In the Internet economy, information is power. In the health care industry, information about hospitals can translate into bankable marketing strategies, targeted selling and many other uses.

A long-respected resource, the American Hospital Directory (AHD), contains valuable information gleaned from Medicare claims data, cost reports and other information gathered by the Health Care Financing Administration. The American Hospital Directory (AHD) takes the information and makes it into usable, valuable data.

There has always been a cost involved with using the AHD. The price of a single subscription is $395.00. For that price you can look up key measurements of hospitals and their performance. You'll find information on the hospital's CEO, financial reports, costs and charges, census information and more. Depending on the information you need and how quickly you need it, using the AHD can be well worth the price.

There is some free information on the Web site. If you need to know basic information like a hospital's address, how many beds it has, how many radiological procedures are performed there or how the hospital compares cost-wise for a predetermined set of procedures; you'll find the free information will serve you well.

You can look up any hospital in the United States but unfortunately, the site's search engine is very picky. To find the hospital you need, try searching by city and state only. You'll get back a list of hyperlinked, hospital names. Click on the name you need. If you fill in the search form as directed, chances are, the hospital you're looking for will not appear in your search results. Search by city and you'll find it nearly every time.