Section 3727.39. Performance information to be posted on internet

(A) The duties of the director of health under this section are subject to section 3727.391 of the Revised Code.

(B) Not later than ninety days after a hospital submits information to the director of health under section 3727.33 or 3727.34 of the Revised Code, the director shall make the submitted information available on an internet web site. In making the information available on a web site, the director shall do all of the following:

(1) Make the web site available to the public without charge;

(2) Provide for the web site to be organized in a manner that enables the public to use it easily;

(3) Exclude from the web site any information that compromises patient privacy;

(4) Include links to hospital internet web sites to enable the public to obtain additional information about hospitals, including hospital programs designed to enhance quality and safety;

(5) Allow other internet web sites to link to the web site for purposes of increasing the web site's availability and encouraging ongoing improvement;

(6) Update the web site as needed to include new information and to correct errors.

(C) The information submitted under section 3727.33 of the Revised Code shall be presented on the web site in a manner that enables the public to compare the performance of hospitals in meeting the measures for hospital inpatient and outpatient services specified in rules adopted under section 3727.41 of the Revised Code. In making the information available on a web site, the director shall do all of the following:

(1) Enable the public to compare the performance of hospitals in meeting the measures for specific diagnoses and procedures;

(2) Enable the public to make the comparisons by different geographic regions, such as by county or zip code;

(3) Based on the report issued to the director pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 3727.32 of the Revised Code, include a report of each hospital's overall performance in meeting the measures;

(4) To the extent possible, include state and federal benchmarks for the measures;

(5) Include contextual information and explanations that the public can easily understand, including contextual information that explains why differences in the performance of hospitals in meeting the measures may be misleading;

(6) Exclude from the web site a hospital's performance in meeting a particular measure if the hospital's caseload for the diagnosis or procedure that the measure concerns is insufficient, as determined in accordance with the guidelines submitted to the director under division (A)(3) of section 3727.32 of the Revised Code, to make the hospital's performance for the diagnosis or procedure a reliable indicator of its ability to treat the diagnosis or provide the procedure in a quality manner;

(7) Clearly identify the sources of information used in the web site and explain both of the following:

(a) The analytical methods used in determining the performance of hospitals in meeting the measures;

(b) The risk adjustment methodologies that hospitals use to adjust information submitted to the director pursuant to division (C) of section 3727.33 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 11-13-2006