Inspection reports of health facilities now available onlineBy BY BOB LaMENDOLA Sun-Sentinel
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
For the first time, Floridians can go online to find inspection reports and the results of complaint investigations involving most health facilities — data that previously took a formal public-records request to obtain.
The state Agency for Health Care Administration this week began posting the reports online to give consumers another tool for assessing 32,000 hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, surgery centers, dialysis units and others.
"It's a good step," said Bill Newton, director of the nonprofit Florida Consumer Action Network. "People want to know what's going on with these facilities. Mostly people don't even think of [getting inspection reports] because it's never been easily available."
The state is posting all reports written after June 1, along with a few older ones, but has no plans to add past years, said Molly McKinstry, the agency's chief of long-term care.
Consumers can look up official state reports written after annual inspections, investigations into complaints, safety inspections and unannounced visits. Such reports include details of violations such as cleanliness, medical mistakes and procedural errors.
Until now, all but a few of the reports could be found only by making a formal public records request. Many consumers did so, McKinstry said, but the online system is "much more accessible."
Officials of hospital and nursing home groups said they supported disclosing the information but feared the technical language in the reports would mislead consumers.
Nursing homes would have preferred better explanations or links to patient satisfaction surveys, said Kristen Knapp, a spokeswoman for the Florida Health Care Association.
Linda Quick, president of the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association, called the online reports "unsettling" because they may mislead consumers and attorneys to think there's a problem where none exists. Also, institutions have no venue to respond.
Bob LaMendola can be reached at blamendola@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4526 or 561-243-6600, ext. 4526.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/aug/13/inspection-reports-health-facilities-now-available/
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