Abstract

The history of the American Healthcare System predates the founding of our nation, and has played a vital role in its development and modern economy. The American hospital exists in three primary forms: 1) public government owned; 2) voluntary non-profits; and, 3) private for-profits, or proprietary hospitals. Each institutional form has unique advantages. Patients in the United States and around the world are demanding more from their healthcare providers and standardized measures of care are the only way to know for sure which hospitals are the best. This paper takes the question of patient care one-step further; it explores, through three case studies of the government and voluntary non-profits, the question of whether hospital ownership plays a role in the quality of care patients receive based on the data compiled in the United States Department of Health and Human Services Hospital Compare Database. This paper does not however explore the private for-profits due to their low levels of reporting. The paper examines three sets of hospitals from cities located in the South to determine if a relationship exists between ownership and quality of patient care. While these institutional forms all deliver healthcare, it is unclear whether one form is better or worse than another. Information on the differences of these forms will be vital to policy makers when crafting healthcare reforms. Especially since the data seems to suggest size and location as stronger factors than organizational form.