Health Services Regulation

The Bureau of Health Services Regulation (HSR) is charged with protecting the citizens of Missouri by developing, regulating and enforcing standards of care and treatment for individuals utilizing health care facilities in Missouri.  A partial list of the types of facilities inspected by this bureau is presented below:

• Licensed Hospitals
• Licensed Ambulatory Surgical Centers
• Certified Mammography Services
• Certified Rural Health Clinics
• End Stage Renal Dialysis Centers

Health care facilities are inspected to determine if certain standards of care are being met. Inspections are performed as part of an on-going process. Inspections may also become necessary based on complaints received by HSR. Once an inspection has taken place, HSR may cite a facility for deficiencies if it is found to provide substandard care or is not in compliance with state and/or federal regulations.

There’s another way to determine the quality of care hospitals provide. Hospitals choose to be surveyed by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) to make sure they meet certain standards. The standards address the quality of staff and equipment, and the hospital’s success in treating and curing patients. If a hospital meets these standards, it becomes accredited. However, JCAHO or AOA accreditation is not a guarantee of quality care. Visit http://www.jcaho.org, and find out the accreditation status for hospitals that chose to be surveyed by JCAHO.

Hospital Compare, a federal web site of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is also a good tool for comparing Medicare-certified hospitals on a variety of quality indicators. You can learn about treatments that get the best results for many adult patients whoa have had a heat attack, heart failure, pneumonia or surgery. You can also see how often hospitals provide recommended treatments for these medical conditions.

It also makes sense for you to ask your hospital some basic questions about quality of care. For instance, does your hospital have experience with your particular illness or condition? How many procedures has it performed on other people with a similar condition? Has anyone lodged a complaint against it?

HSR provides links below to help you learn more about Missouri’s varied hospitals and their services. Hospital administrators and staff will also find the “provider information” link helpful for downloading certain forms, such as the Hospital License Renewal Application.

Hospital Directories
Directories of Missouri hospitals by name and county, and a summary of licensed beds are provided.

Complaints
Explains how to lodge a complaint against a hospital and provides a downloadable complaint form.

Laws/Regulations
What rules must hospitals follow?

Applications and Forms
Download the Hospital Licensure Renewal Application, Bed Count Sheet and Infectious Waste Generator Registration Application.

Community Data Profiles
Community data profiles are available on various subjects such as diseases and unintentional injuries in your community.

Missouri Information for Community Assessment (MICA)This interactive system allows you to create and download tables, based on certain variables, such as hospital discharges and emergency care.