HealthGrades National Health Index: This site provides accessible and transparent information on physicians and hospitals as well as helps users connect with their provider of choice.

NCQA Health Care Report Card by Practice: These reports examine how well doctors, other clinicians, practices, health insurance plans and other health care organizations nationwide perform. The report cards are a compilation of all NCQA accreditation, recognition, certification and distinction programs.

Administrators in Medicine (AIM) DocFinder: This online physician directory contains licensing and disciplinary information of health care practitioners by state.

MN Community Measurement (MNCM): MNCM develops measures, collects data and creates reports that drive improvement in health care. Its mission is to accelerate health care improvement by public information reporting.

The Leapfrog Group: This national nonprofit collects and transparently reports and compares hospital performance based on their quality of care, giving consumers the information they need to make informed decisions.

MN Department of Health Adverse Events Search: Area hospitals are required to report to the MN Department of Health whenever any of 28 identified preventable adverse events occur.

Minnesota Hospital Quality Report: This site gives you a snapshot of hospital performance in five key areas (heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, infection prevention and surgical care), along with patient ratings.

Medicare.gov Hospital Compare: This tool allows you to compare hospitals based on their quality of care, patient survey results, rates of readmission, mortality rates and more.

Quality Check: This site lets you see whether a health care organization has been accredited or certified by the Joint Commission.

Nursing Home Report Card: This nursing home report from the State of Minnesota scores area nursing homes on seven quality measures.