Disclaimer: Measures of HealthCare Quality

This disclaimer has important information you should know about the Pathways to Excellence results. 

Information DISCLAIMER:

The information on hospitals, major surgeries, and physician practices is obtained from multiple sources:

Hospitals and Major Surgery Ratings:

• Patient Experience and Select Clinical Quality data is abstracted from the US Department of Health and Human Services website at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov. 
• A Medication Safety Survey that is mailed to all hospitals in Maine. Each hospital is asked to complete a survey which was developed by a committee of pharmacists and nurses based on their knowledge and experience; learnings from previous years’ surveys and on discussions of the relevant and current literature. 
• A summary of hospital results from the National Leapfrog Survey found at www.leapfroggroup.org.

Hospital CEOs affirm the accuracy of the self-reported Leapfrog National and Medication Safety Surveys when they submit their data. If you have any questions about their data, you should contact the hospital directly.

The Pathways to Excellence Hospital Steering Committee awards blue ribbons based on [objective metrics developed by Steering Committee to measure practices and performance].

Physician Practices Ratings

• A survey and outcomes data collection administered by the MHMC, that was developed by the Pathways to Excellence Physician Steering Committee.
• A survey and outcomes data collection administered by Bridges to Excellence (www.bridgestoexcellence.org) and/or 
• A survey and outcomes data collection, administered by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (www.ncqa.org) 

The Pathways to Excellence Physicians Steering Committee awards blue ribbons based on [objective metrics developed by Steering Committee to measure practices and performance].

Please note that by publishing this information, it is not the intention of the Maine Health Management Coalition to recommend any particular hospital, physician, or other provider over any other. Each provider included in the report has been licensed by the state and most, if not all, of the providers included in the study participate in some form of utilization review and quality improvement initiatives. 

The Coalition urges all individuals to select health care providers based on personal referrals, direct inquiries, and other detailed information. No individual should select a provider, or fail to select a provider, solely on the basis of the limited information presented in these profiles. There are a variety of other sources of provider information and it is important to use all available public sources to determine where you want to receive care.  The information provided using this website is only intended to be a general summary of information to the public. It is not intended to take the place of either written law or regulations.  The Coalition disclaims any and all liability for the consequences of provider choices made by individuals even if such choices are purportedly influenced by the data presented on this web site. MOREOVER, THE COALITION MAY NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY NEGATIVE INFERENCES DRAWN BY PATIENTS OR POTENTIAL PATIENTS WITH RESPECT TO ANY HEALTHCARE PROVIDER PARTICIPATING IN THE STUDY BASED ON THE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO SUCH PROVIDER IN THE PROFILE. 

Our website has links to other helpful sites.  When you link to one of those other sites you leave our site and are subject to that other site’s privacy policy. 

This information may not be reproduced by any non-MHMC member without express permission from the MHMC.