A facility, a payment arrangement and a quality rating answer different questions. For example, a night in a hospital bed does not by itself distinguish observation from inpatient admission.
Understand the care setting
Hospital, outpatient, community and home-based services use different admission and operating arrangements.
- Acute Care Hospitals and Nursing · Observation Status and Inpatient Admission
- Ambulatory Surgery Centers · Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Rural Health Clinics · Community Health Centers and Nursing
- Hospital-at-Home Programs
How services are coordinated and paid for
Compare care models, long-term support and incentives used by payers.
- Accountable Care Organizations · Patient-Centered Medical Homes
- Integrated Behavioral Health · Long-Term Services and Supports
- Home and Community-Based Services · PACE Programs and Nursing
- Healthcare Payment Models · Value-Based Purchasing and Nursing
Oversight, accreditation and ownership
Distinguish participation rules, reporting requirements and professional recognition.
- Medicare Hospital Conditions of Participation · CMS Quality Reporting Programs
- Hospital Accreditation and Certification · Pathway to Excellence Recognition
- Healthcare Facility Ownership
Read public quality measures
Check the population, reporting period and outcome before comparing facilities.
- Hospital Consumer Assessment Surveys · Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators
- Readmission Measures and Nursing · Hospital Quality Star Ratings
- Nursing Homes and Care Compare
Sources
- Medicare: Inpatient or outpatient hospital status affects your costs (accessed 2026-11-11).
- Medicare: Accountable Care Organizations (accessed 2026-11-11).
- CMS: Five-Star Quality Rating System (accessed 2026-11-11).