The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday unveiled a quality tool for patients and health care providers to access hospital patient satisfaction information and compare hospitals on the Internet.

The Hospital Compare Web site -- www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov -- allows the public to compare hospitals based on specific medical conditions or surgical procedures or by a general search for hospitals in a specific geographic area. Information in the comparison includes hospital process of care measures, outcome of care measures where available, survey of patient's hospital experience and Medicare payment and volume for selected medical conditions or surgical procedures.

The site was created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Hospital Quality Alliance, a public-private collaboration promoting reporting on hospital quality of care.