52% Less Mortality At Top-Rated Hospitals?
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009As patients and caregivers… We need to research our heart valve disease. We need to research our surgical options. We need to research surgeons. And, we need to research hospitals.
Why do we do this? Ultimately, I believe this research empowers us to make smart and confident choices that minimize our surgical risk.
On that note, I just read a fascinating report that suggests there is (i) a significant gap in quality among America’s hospitals, and (ii) a corresponding large difference in the rate of patient deaths.

Healthgrades said patients have a 52% percent lower risk of dying in a top-rated hospital than in United States hospitals in general. The study is based on an evaluation of hospital mortality related to 17 procedures and diagnoses at 5,000 non-federal U.S. hospitals. The study’s conclusions came after researchers examined 40 million Medicare hospitalization records from the years 2006, 2007 and 2008.







