Pocono Medical Center recently received an "A" from a well-known hospital grading website, while other area medical centers all ended up with average scores of "C."

But the question is, do such accolades even matter?"I wouldn't say it's necessarily irrelevant, but consumers need to take certain things into consideration," Lisa Johnson, vice president of public relations at Blue Mountain Health System, said.PMC received the mark from the Leapfrog Group's annual "Hospital Safety Grade," which collects and analyzes data on patient safety. Leapfrog is a nonprofit institution that reports on hospital performance, safety and other aspects of the medical field.The report cards cover 30 separate items under five categories - Infections; Problems with Surgery; Practices to Prevent Errors; Safety Problems; and Doctors, Nurses & Hospital Staff.Each item, such as MRSA infections in the hospital, hand washing procedures, and communication with doctors, is rated from below to above average. The average of those scores make up the final grade.Other reportsWhile the information in the Hospital Safety Grade is valuable, it only focuses on patient safety. If you want to know about specialty physicians, turnover rates in medical practices, or something else, Leapfrog will leave you wanting.For additional information, you could also check out U.S. News and World Report's "Best Hospitals."Or, perhaps you are looking for something that may be covered under Medicare's "Hospital Compare" website. Then again, maybe you are a doctor looking to track how your workplace is doing as far as health care quality. If so, check out Why Not the Best?"That's part of the conundrum, so to speak," Johnson said. "There are so very many systems out there, you could get an 'A' in one, a 'C' in another, and an 'S' in another yet."There are plenty of different sites based on hospital and medical comparisons, often with their own accompanying yearly awards. And each one may be focusing on something different."You have to put it all in perspective, and realize what they're measuring," Johnson said. "It all depends on what they measure and at what time."ComparisonsIn fact, there are so many hospital report cards available right now, a site exists just to compare the comparisons - Informed Patient Institute grades the sites as "recommended," "use with caution," and "not recommended."While no grading site is mandatory, some surveys, which provide a lot of the data for the sites, are necessary."The HCAHPS service, that is mandated by the federal government. We must participate in them to revise Medicare reimbursement," Johnson said of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems.Often, a group such as Press Gain, located in Indiana, will handle those surveys for a hospital.In the case of hospitals like Gnaden Huetten, the information is sent to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which will compare and distribute the data through their Hospital Compare.Other agencies, like Leapfrog, can also use that information. However, some hospitals may not directly work with groups like Leapfrog, which also conducts its own surveys. This results in gaps in data that are listed as "declined to provide information" - gaps that can skew the grades. In addition, some data sourced from CMS may be deemed insufficient to the rating website."Because we don't participate in Leapfrog, we don't fill out their survey," Johnson said. "They don't get all of our data. It's not that we actually declined to provide the information."Furthermore, the data that is collected may be a poor indication of a hospital's overall performance, due to the age of the information itself. By the time it is reported, an issue such as MRSA infection rates at an institution could have already been reduced."Some of that data that they collect could be a year old, or even longer," Johnson said. "There are things that may be done that may not be reported. Many hospitals do these things internally, they may not be reported anywhere."Final thoughtsHowever, this is not to say that the grades themselves are meaningless.As previously stated, some are more specialized, so it all amounts to what needs are being addressed. Leapfrog's Hospital Safety could give a decent overall picture of Gnaden Huetten or St. Luke's, but you may have to pair that with data sourced from U.S. News and World Report's list of what specialties are best at that particular location.And while hospitals may check out grades on Leapfrog or sites of the like, they usually seem to understand the quirks and gaps that make the grades vary."We look at it and see a 'C,' we don't look to see 'C's.' We know we're better than that," Johnson said. "We've won awards for patient safety."Even with a perfect grade though, the better hospitals know not to rest on their laurels."Even if you have an 'A,' there's always room to improve," Johnson said.