June 27, 2007 - CMS and the Hospital Quality Alliance posted on the Hospital Compare Web site data that provide a broad comparison of mortality rates for heart attack and heart failure in hospital patients, in order to promote quality and to give consumers information for making informed decisions in healthcare.
The Hospital Compare Web site posts data on 30-day mortality rates for heart attack or heart failure among Medicare beneficiaries treated at more than 4,000 hospitals nationwide from July 2005 to June 2006. According to the Web site, 16.4 percent of heart attack patients nationwide died within 30 days of their hospital admission, and mortality rates at individual hospitals ranged from 10.8 percent to 24 percent. The Web site also indicates that seven facilities had rates lower than the national average, 17 had rates higher than the national average and the remainder had rates near the national average.
CMS officials said that they informed hospitals of the data included on the Web site and provided them with additional data compiled by the agency. Researchers from Yale University and Harvard University worked with CMS to develop a detailed statistical analysis to adjust for the relative health and medical histories of hospital patients. CMS that it plans to work with some hospitals to improve their quality of care.
For more information: www.cms.hhs.gov/HospitalQualityInits/25_HospitalCompare.asp