Death rates after complex cancer surgery were linked to a hospital's star rating designated by CMS, decreasing with an increase in the rating, a new study shows.
Published in the journal JNCI: Cancer Spectrum, the study examined data of 105,823 patients, older than 65 years who had complex cancer surgery at 3,146 U.S. hospitals.
The CMS hospital quality star rating system was developed to serve as a guide for patients to compare hospital quality. The rating ranges from one to five stars, with one being the lowest rating.
Researchers found that 90-day mortality rates after complex cancer surgery decreased with higher star ratings. One-star hospitals had a death rate of 10.4 percent, and five-star ones had a death rate of 6.4 percent.