Keeping NYC hospitals open becomes new issue in mayoral race

NYC's hospitals have become a big issue in the city's mayoral race. In the meantime, New York state health officials have posted a plethora of data online about the state's hospitals and doctors.

The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Heat Up As An Issue
Fixing New York's ailing hospitals has emerged as a sleeper issue in the race for mayor, with three of the leading campaigns scrambling Monday to demonstrate their commitment to keeping the institutions open (Grossman, 8/19).

The Associated Press/Wall Street Journal: NY Posts Cardiac Surgery, Other Data On Web Site
New York health officials have begun posting online data about cardiac surgeries, hospitals and the doctors statewide who perform them, including their cases from 2008 to 2010 and mortality rates. Other information posted on the Health Data NY website includes environmental radiation surveys at various facilities and sites around New York. The measures of levels in the air, water, milk, fish, sediment and vegetation are used to determine normal levels and the effects from what people are doing (8/20).

In related national hospital news --

The Wall Street Journal's The Informed Patient: More Hospitals Use Social Media to Gather Feedback from Patients' Families
Hospitals are turning to Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media to recruit patients and their families as advisers. They are asking parents for input, via questionnaires and surveys, on improvements in care, new services and even new facility names. ... The efforts are part of a larger movement to engage patients and families in care and enhance the hospital experience. The federal Medicare program is basing some hospital payments on patient satisfaction surveys, including questions about how responsive a hospital is to concerns. Similar surveys are being developed for pediatric hospitals (Landro, 8/19).