A new web based tool has been launched for consumers to compare and checkup on Western Washington hospitals and medical clinics.  The new web tool is called Puget Sound Health Alliance's Community Checkup, www.wacommunitycheckup.org.  It is a report card on 240 medical clinics and two dozen hospitals in Western Washington.

Want to know which local hospital has the best survival rates for heart attack patients? Or which medical clinic has the best track record for treating patients with chronic depression? 

Hospitals are ranked on 11 main measures, each with multiple subcategories.  Providers are graded on a curve against their regional or national peers or against best-standard bench marks.  The checkup report is targeted at providing consumers a broad gauge of quality, not a judgment about which provider is good or bad, according to Health Alliance.  That's a politically correct way of saying the data speaks for itself and you be the judge of whether a certain hospital or clinic is good or bad. 

I think this is a great service being provided to King, Snohomish, Pierce, Thurston and Kitsap county residents.  Patients now have a quick and simple way to check out a hospital or clinic before they make an appointment for medical treatment of any kind.  Kudos to Puget Sound Health Alliance.

Attorneys are subject to reviews by consumers on sites like Avvo, why shouldn't medical facilities and even doctors be subject to the same type of public consumer reviews.