VA database could benefit every consumer

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is now offering an online tool for comparing hospitals that could be a major help for all consumers if it were to be extended throughout the American health care industry. The VA last November began posting hospital-specific information on patient outcomes at the nation's 152 VA medical facilities.

The program allows veterans to compare such things as hospitals' surgical death rates, rates of infection from intravenous lines and re-admission due to medical complications. The VA has committed to ordering improvements in medical protocol or dismissing doctors at hospitals that fall into the bottom 10 percent on national ratings...