Choosing a hospital can be an overwhelming experience. Typically, you either listen to what your doctor office tells you or you listen to a friend of relative. One thing you may not realize is you have a choice. You can tell your doctor where you would like to receive your care and to make the right choice, you should become as educated as possible.

Try to gather information from many sources, including:

• Hospital information lines or call centers
• Your health benefits officer at work or fellow employees. Friends and family
• National accreditation agencies
• Quality reports and accreditations
• When using the following quality indicators to the left, we recommend you combine your personal knowledge and comfort level with information from more than one quality indicator