US Hospital Finder

Today Lifehacker reviewed a Google Maps Mashup, US Hospital Finder. Enter your address, and the hospitals nearest to you are listed. As Lifehacker notes, there is no magic in that. However, they go on to note (and I agree) that the beauty of the mashup is the information about each hospital. Take, for example, UMass Memorial Medical, on Belmont Street in Worcester (8 miles from my house). Click the image to see results.

UMass Memorial has better than the nationwide average ratings on mortality, as well as pretty high patient ratings.

Although we can't always choose which hospital to go to during an emergency, we can deliberate over these choices -- within confines of insurance coverage -- for other visits. I think this is an interesting tool at the very least.