US hospitals by type
The CMS directory classifies hospitals by type — acute care, critical access, psychiatric, children's, long-term care and more. The mix explains a lot about why some hospitals are unrated and why emergency-department access varies. 5,419 hospitals8 types
Key findings
- Acute-care hospitals are the largest group; critical-access hospitals — small rural facilities — are the next, and they are often unrated because they report too few measures.
- Emergency-department coverage varies sharply by type: psychiatric and long-term-care hospitals typically do not report emergency services.
- Specialty hospitals (children's, psychiatric, rehabilitation) are less likely to carry an overall star rating, which is why the national share of rated hospitals is lower than the count suggests.
| Hospital type | Hospitals | Average rating | With emergency services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acute Care Hospitals | 3,107 | 3.16 ★ | 91% |
| Critical Access Hospitals | 1,382 | 3.22 ★ | 97% |
| Psychiatric | 624 | — | 14% |
| Acute Care - Veterans Administration | 132 | 4.16 ★ | 85% |
| Childrens | 94 | — | 59% |
| Rural Emergency Hospital | 43 | — | 100% |
| Acute Care - Department of Defense | 32 | — | 97% |
| Long-term | 5 | — | 0% |
Why the type matters
Comparing a critical-access hospital with a large academic medical centre on the same star rating is misleading: they treat different patients and report different measures. The type is on every facility page in the directory so the comparison is at least visible.
Method
Counts from the CMS "Hospital Type" field; averages use hospitals with a valid overall rating; emergency-services share uses the CMS flag. Data: CMS Provider Data Catalog (public domain).