Hospital Buyer

In its fourth annual Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study, HealthGrades found (pdf release) that “patients checking into a hospital rated in the top five percent in
the country have, on average, a 27 percent lower chance of mortality and a 14 percent lower risk of
complications.” The report estimates that more than 150,000 lives may have been saved between 2002 and 2004 were all American hospitals to meet the quality levels displayed by the top five percent. HealthGrades was careful to adjust its mortality calculations by accounting for different levels of risks, so hospitals treating sicker patients were not penalized in their rating (i.e. the study reports inhospital risk-adjusted mortality).

Areas with the biggest risk discrepancy are diabetic Acidosis & coma (~35% lower risk), pancreatitis (~32%), community acquired pneumonia (~31%), heart failure (~29%) and coronary artery bypass surgery (~29%). HealthGrades purchased the initial data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which includes almost all hospitals in the country aside from military and VA hospitals. The Medicare data (MedPAR file) from CMS contained the inpatient records for Medicare patients. The complete report is available here (pdf), consumers can access the ratings for free on the company’s web site.

February 6, 2006 Related topics: Quality, Safety, Errors, Benchmarking