Surprisingly, that’s not what the numbers show. Studies have been done on this over the last decade, and while I don’t have a link to them they indicate that results at the “big name” hospital are often no better than at the hospital down the street.
Sure, if a particular specialist is needed, you want to be where that specialist works. But it’s the doctor, not the hospital, that matters.
Of far greater import in terms of getting well are whether the hospital follows checklists, whether it maintains sanitation protocols in rooms and in operating theaters. Many big name hospitals don’t. Many big name doctors don’t, either.
I will agree that more studies on this question are needed, that more numbers are needed, and more transparency is needed. But based on the studies I’ve seen as a reporter, the high-priced spread doesn’t justify the high price in terms of results.
