If you are going to have an operation, even a routine surgery, you should check out the ranking of the hospital where you plan to have your operation.
On October 14, 2008, HealthDay News reported that the “death rate at top-ranked U.S. hospitals is 70 percent lower than at the lowest-ranked hospitals, according to a study that examined 41 million patient records at the nation’s approximately 5,000 hospitals over three years.”
This conclusion was based on the 11th Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, which ranked hospitals from 1 star to a maximum of 5 stars.
The study also concluded that 237,420 Medicare patient deaths could have potentially been prevent from 2005 to 2007 if all hospitals in the USA performed at the top-rated 5 Star level. More than half of these deaths were caused by only 4 conditions: sepsis (system wide infection); pneumonia; heart failure and respiratory failure.
Geography played a significant factor in the risk of death according to the study. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin had the lowest overall death rates; whereas Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee had the highest.
An author of the study commented that “Geography should not be a major factor in patients’ outcomes. If our nation’s hospitals are to close the quality gap and guarantee an equally high level of medical care for every patient, no matter where he or she lives, it will require a commitment by our nation and its communities to demand more from quality improvement” commented Dr. Samantha Collier, HealthGrades’ chief medical officer.
“Until then, it is imperative that anyone seeking medical care at a hospital do their homework and know the hospital’s quality rating before they check in,” Collier said in a news release issued by HealthGrades, a Colorado-based independent healthcare ratings organization found at www.healthgrades.com
You can find Heathgrades’ 2009 quality ratings for all private hospitals in the USA, including those in the State of Colorado, at their above web site.
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