Maryland Hospital Performance Evaluation Guide (hospitalguide.mhcc.state.md.us). Produced by the state with assistance from hospital experts and industry officials, this Web site is sometimes hard to navigate. But it allows you to compare hospital performance based on questions like this: Were patients with pneumonia given an antibiotic in a timely way? While this is not trivial information, it has limited use in terms of decisions about hospital choice. There also is a link for obstetrics.

Virginia Health Information (vhi.org). This site has useful but limited data. It is most helpful for those seeking cardiac care. For example, you can compare the mortality rates of hospitals in cardiac surgery and nonsurgical cardiac treatments. The mortality rates are also compared with a national average. The Web site includes information on health insurance, nursing facilities, physicians, retirement centers, and other healthcare facilities.