“For more than 20 years, the Dartmouth Atlas Project has documented glaring variations in how medical resources are distributed and used in the United States. The project uses Medicare data to provide comprehensive information and analysis about national, regional, and local markets, as well as individual hospitals and their affiliated physicians. These reports and the research upon which they are based have helped policymakers, the media, health care analysts and others improve their understanding of the efficiency and effectiveness of our health care system. This valuable data forms the foundation for many of the ongoing efforts to improve health and health systems across America. This web site provides access to all Atlas reports and publications, as well as interactive tools to allow visitors to view specific regions and perform their own comparisons and analyses. These tools have helped other groups create reports like those listed on our Case Studies page. Further studies and data created with the support of the National Institute on Aging can be found here. The goal of one study was to develop an instrument and conduct a survey of Medicare beneficiaries, and to better understand the causes and consequences of geographic variation in per capita expenditures for Medicare beneficiaries.”