In-hospital mortality rates, an oft-used measure of hospital quality, may not be a reliable indicator of high quality care, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
For their study, researchers assessed patients admitted to non-federal hospitals for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and pneumonia from 2004-2006. Using this data, researchers compared risk standardized in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates.
The researchers found that in-hospital mortality rates are biased in favor of hospitals with shorter patient lengths of stay, suggesting 30-day mortality rates may be a more objective means of measuring hospital performance. In fact, researchers found that changing the type of mortality assessment changed the quality ranking for 8-15 percent of hospitals.
For their study, researchers assessed patients admitted to non-federal hospitals for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and pneumonia from 2004-2006. Using this data, researchers compared risk standardized in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates.
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The researchers found that in-hospital mortality rates are biased in favor of hospitals with shorter patient lengths of stay, suggesting 30-day mortality rates may be a more objective means of measuring hospital performance. In fact, researchers found that changing the type of mortality assessment changed the quality ranking for 8-15 percent of hospitals.
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