(The Delta Group: Greenville, SC) -- CareChex, a division of The Delta Group specializing in rating the quality of hospital and physician care, has released three new studies that reveal broad disparities between the quality of U.S. health care by state and metro area, and surprising regional differences in patient satisfaction with the care they are getting.

The first study, 2010 CareChex Quality of Care by U.S. Geographic Area, provides insight into the relative quality of care and the broad disparities in care delivered across different states and major metropolitan areas. The data also help explain the growing trend toward U.S. “medical tourism,” where patients travel outside their local market to receive higher quality care at a better price.

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