111 patient safety benchmarks | 2018

Benchmarking data is valuable for hospital and health system leaders to measure individual institutions and discover areas of excellence, as well as identify opportunities for improvement.

Becker's Hospital Review compiled 111 patient safety benchmarks from various sources for hospital comparison.

Readmissions, Mortality and Complications

Entries one through 11 are based on data from CMS' Hospital Compare website, last updated May 23, 2018. Data presented reflect the national average.

30-day average readmission rates

1. Heart attack: 16.3 percent
2. Heart failure: 21.6 percent
3. Pneumonia: 16.9 percent

30-day average death rates

4. Heart attack: 13.6 percent
5. Heart failure: 11.9 percent
6. Pneumonia: 15.9 percent

Rates of serious complications

Figures reflect the national average rates per 1,000 patient discharges.

7. Collapsed lung due to medical treatment: 0.4
8. Serious blood clots after surgery: 4.35
9. A wound that splits open after surgery, abdomen or pelvis: 2.26
10. Accidental cuts and tears from medical treatment: 0.88
11. Deaths among patients with serious treatable complications after surgery: 139.05

Respondents reporting events in the past 12 months

Entries 12 through 17 are based on data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture 2018 User Comparative Database Report, using data from 382,834 surveyed hospital providers and staff respondents from 630 hospitals. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

12. No reported events: 55 percent
13. One to two reported events: 25 percent
14. Three to five reported events: 13 percent
15. Six to 10 reported events: 4 percent
16. Eleven to 20 reported events: 2 percent
17. Twenty-one or more reported events: 1 percent

Healthcare-Associated Infections

Entries 18 through 31 are based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HAI Progress Report that includes 2014 data, published in 2016. The report uses data from the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network. Around 17,000 hospitals and healthcare facilities report data to NHSN.

National standardized infection ratio (a summary statistic that can be used to track HAI prevention progress over time)

18. CLABSI: 0.50
19. CAUTI: 1.00
20. MRSA bacteremia: 0.87
21. C. difficile infections: 0.92

National standardized infection ratios for surgical site infection

22. Hip arthroplasty: 0.78
23. Knee arthroplasty: 0.59
24. Colon surgery: 0.98
25. Rectal surgery: 0.60
26. Abdominal hysterectomy: 0.83
27. Vaginal hysterectomy: 0.86
28. Coronary artery bypass graft: 0.55
29. Other cardiac surgery: 0.42
30. Peripheral vascular bypass surgery: 0.70
31. Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: 0.28

Sentinel events

Entries 32 through 41 are based on The Joint Commission's sentinel event data summary published in March 2018, representing the number of sentinel events The Joint Commission reviewed for each category in 2017.

Sentinel events reviewed by The Joint Commission:

32. Unintended retention of a foreign body: 116
33. Falls: 114
34. Wrong patient, wrong site, wrong procedures: 95
35. Suicides: 89
36. Delay in treatment: 66
37. Other unanticipated events (including asphyxiation, burn, choking on food, drowning or being found unresponsive): 60
38. Criminal event: 37
39. Medication error: 32
40. Operative/postoperative complications: 19
41. Self-inflicted injury: 18

Process of Care Measures

Entries 42 through 60 are based on data from CMS' Hospital Compare website, last updated April 24, 2018. Data presented reflect the national average.

Heart attack/chest pain patient data

42. Average (median) time before outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack were transferred to another hospital if he or she needed specialized care: 57 minutes
43. Average (median) time before outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack got an electrocardiogram: 7 minutes
44. Percent of outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack who received fibrinolytic medication within 30 minutes of arrival: 59 percent
45. Average (median) time to fibrinolysis for heart attack or chest pain patients: 28 minutes
46. Percentage of outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack who got aspirin within 24 hours of arrival: 95 percent

Preventive care

47. Percentage of patients assessed and given influenza vaccination: 93 percent
48. Percentage of healthcare workers given influenza vaccination: 88 percent

Colonoscopy care

49. Percentage of patients receiving appropriate recommendation for follow-up screening colonoscopy: 85 percent
50. Percentage of patients with history of polyps receiving follow-up colonoscopy in the appropriate time frame: 90 percent

Emergency department

51. Average (median) time spent in the emergency department before being admitted as an inpatient: 281 minutes
52. Average (median) time spent in the emergency department after physician decided to admit them as an inpatient before moving from emergency department to inpatient room: 102 minutes
53. Average time spent in the emergency department before leaving from the visit: 140 minutes
54. Average (median) time spent in the emergency department before being seen by a healthcare professional: 20 minutes
55. Average (median) time spent waiting with broken bones before receiving pain medication: 49 minutes
56. Percentage of patients who left the emergency department before being seen: 2 percent
57. Percentage of patients who came to the emergency room with stroke symptoms and received brain scan results within 45 minutes of arrival: 72 percent

Blood clot prevention and treatment

58. Patients who developed a blood clot while in the hospital who did not get treatment that could have prevented it: 2 percent

Cataract surgery

59. Percentage of patients who had cataract surgery and had improvement in visual function within 90 days after surgery: 96 percent

Pregnancy care

60. Percentage of mothers whose deliveries were scheduled too early (one to two weeks early) when a scheduled delivery was not medically necessary: 2 percent

Patient Experience

Entries 61 through 89 are based on data from the CMS Hospital Compare website, last updated May 22. Data presented reflects the national average.

Overall hospital rating

61. Patients who gave the hospital a rating of nine or 10: 73 percent
62. Patients who gave the hospital a rating of seven or eight: 20 percent
63. Patients who gave the hospital a rating of six or lower: 7 percent

Patient recommendation

64. Patients who said yes, they would definitely recommend the hospital to friends and family: 72 percent
65. Patients who said yes, they would probably recommend the hospital to friends and family: 23 percent
66. Patients who said no, they probably or definitely would not recommend the hospital to friends and family: 5 percent

Cleanliness

67. Patients who said their room and bathroom were "always" clean: 75 percent
68. Patients who said their room and bathroom were "usually" clean: 17 percent
69. Patients who said their room and bathroom were "sometimes" or "never" clean: 8 percent

Noise

70. Patients who said the area around their room was "always" quiet at night: 62 percent
71. Patients who said the area around their room was "usually" quiet at night: 29 percent
72. Patients who said the area around their room was "sometimes" or "never" quiet at night: 9 percent

Physician communication

73. Patients who said their physicians "always" communicated well: 82 percent
74. Patients who said their physicians "usually" communicated well: 14 percent
75. Patients who said their physicians "sometimes" or "never" communicated well: 4 percent

Nurse communication

76. Patients who said their nurses "always" communicated well: 80 percent
77. Patients who said their nurses "usually" communicated well: 16 percent
78. Patients who said their nurses "sometimes" or "never" communicated well: 4 percent

Explanation of medicines

79. Patients who said staff "always" explained medicines before administering: 66 percent
80. Patients who said staff "usually" explained medicines before administering: 17 percent
81. Patients who said staff "sometimes" or "never" explained medicines before administering: 17 percent

Assistance from hospital staff

82. Patients who said they "always" received help as soon as they wanted: 69 percent
83. Patients who said they "usually" received help as soon as they wanted: 23 percent
84. Patients who said they "sometimes" or "never" received help as soon as they wanted: 8 percent

Recovery plan

85. Patients who said staff provided information about what to do during their recovery at home: 87 percent
86. Patients who said staff did not provide information about what to do during their recovery at home: 13 percent

Care plan at discharge

87. Patients who strongly agreed they understood their care when they left the hospital: 53 percent
88. Patients who agreed they understood their care when they left the hospital: 42 percent
89. Patients who disagreed or strongly disagreed they understood their care when they left the hospital: 5 percent

Patient Volumes and Hospital Beds

Entries 90 through 94 are from the Kaiser Family Foundation's 2016 State Health Facts, the most recent data available. Data presented represent the average annual patient volume per 1,000 population.

90. Number of hospital admissions: 103
91. Number of hospital inpatient days: 564
92. Hospital emergency room visits: 440
93. Hospital outpatient visits: 2,312
94. Hospital beds: 2.4

Patient Safety Culture

Entries 95 through 111 are based on data from AHRQ's Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture 2018 User Database Report, using data from 382,834 surveyed hospital staff respondents from 630 hospitals.

95. Percentage of hospital staff reporting teamwork within units:

• 10th percentile: 76 percent
• 25th percentile: 79 percent
• Median: 83 percent
• 75th percentile: 86 percent
• 90th percentile: 89 percent
• Average: 82 percent

96. Percentage of hospital staff reporting supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting patient safety:

• 10th percentile: 73 percent
• 25th percentile: 76 percent
• Median: 80 percent
• 75th percentile: 84 percent
• 90th percentile: 87 percent
• Average: 80 percent

97. Percentage of hospital staff reporting organizational learning and continuous improvement from mistakes:

• 10th percentile: 64 percent
• 25th percentile: 68 percent
• Median: 73 percent
• 75th percentile: 77 percent
• 90th percentile: 80 percent
• Average: 72 percent

98. Percentage of hospital staff reporting management support for patient safety:

• 10th percentile: 61 percent
• 25th percentile: 67 percent
• Median: 73 percent
• 75th percentile: 78 percent
• 90th percentile: 82 percent
• Average: 72 percent

99. Percentage of hospital staff reporting overall perceptions of patient safety:

• 10th percentile: 55 percent
• 25th percentile: 61 percent
• Median: 66 percent
• 75th percentile: 71 percent
• 90th percentile: 77 percent
• Average: 66 percent

100. Percentage of hospital staff reporting feedback and communications about errors:

• 10th percentile: 59 percent
• 25th percentile: 64 percent
• Median: 69 percent
• 75th percentile: 73 percent
• 90th percentile: 79 percent
• Average: 69 percent

101. Percentage of hospital staff reporting frequency of events that had potential to cause harm but did not cause harm and were reported:

• 10th percentile: 58 percent
• 25th percentile: 62 percent
• Median: 67 percent
• 75th percentile: 72 percent
• 90th percentile: 76 percent
• Average: 67 percent

102. Percentage of hospital staff reporting communication and openness:

• 10th percentile: 57 percent
• 25th percentile: 61 percent
• Median: 66 percent
• 75th percentile: 70 percent
• 90th percentile: 74 percent
• Average: 66 percent

103. Percentage of hospital staff reporting teamwork across units:

• 10th percentile: 50 percent
• 25th percentile: 55 percent
• Median: 62 percent
• 75th percentile: 68 percent
• 90th percentile: 75 percent
• Average: 62 percent

104. Percentage of hospital staff reporting adequate unit staffing to provide quality care:

• 10th percentile: 43 percent
• 25th percentile: 47 percent
• Median: 53 percent
• 75th percentile: 59 percent
• 90th percentile: 65 percent
• Average: 53 percent

105. Percentage of hospital staff reporting smooth informational handoffs and care transitions:

• 10th percentile: 35 percent
• 25th percentile: 40 percent
• Median: 46 percent
• 75th percentile: 54 percent
• 90th percentile: 62 percent
• Average: 48 percent

106. Percentage of hospital staff reporting nonpunitive response to error:

• 10th percentile: 37 percent
• 25th percentile: 41 percent
• Median: 47 percent
• 75th percentile: 53 percent
• 90th percentile: 59 percent
• Average: 47 percent

Percentage of respondents giving their work area a patient safety grade:

107. Excellent: 35 percent
108. Very good: 43 percent
109. Acceptable: 18 percent
110. Poor: 4 percent
111. Failing: 1 percent