Two groups that advocate for civil rights and better health care for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have compiled a report that rates the nation’s hospitals on standards of patient care for GLBT Americans.

The Healthcare Equality Index, or HEI, is a step in establishing a nationwide set of standards to reduce discrimination and ensure quality hospital-based health care, said the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

The absence of federal protections, inadequate state laws and inconsistent hospital policies often result in discrimination and inadequate health care for GLBT patients and their families, the organizations said.

HRC surveyed 88 hospitals across the country and rated them on five areas of policy and practice: patient non-discrimination; hospital visitation; decision making; cultural competency training; and employment non-discrimination.

Three New York state hospitals participated in the survey. They are: Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn; New York Presbyterian Hospital, Manhattan; and Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester.

HEI is modeled after another project by the Human Rights Campaign that rates corporations on equality standards for GLBT workers. That index, HRC said, has led to more than 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies today to offer benefits to same-sex partners, up from just a few eight years ago.

The 2008 Healthcare Equality Index is available online in PDF format at www.hrc.org/hei.