The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's 2012 National Healthcare Quality Report describes how healthcare quality has changed over time.
AHRQ identified 10 quality measures that have improved at the fastest pace and 10 measures that have worsened at the fastest pace for at least four years. To be deemed "improving" or "worsening," measures must change at a rate greater than 1 percent per year. For the majority of measures, quality data from 2000 to 2002 was compared with data from 2008 to 2010.
10 quality measures improving at the highest rate
• Adult surgery patients who had prophylactic antibiotics discontinued within 24 hours after surgery end time
• Adult surgery patients who received prophylactic antibiotics within one hour prior to surgical incision
• Hospital patients with heart attack who received percutaneous coronary intervention within 90 minutes of arrival
• Hospital patients age 65 and older with pneumonia who received a pneumococcal screening or vaccination
• Hospital patients age 50 and older with pneumonia who received an influenza screening or vaccination
• Hospital patients with pneumonia who had blood cultures collected before antibiotics were administered
• Hospital patients with heart failure who were given complete written discharge instructions
• Hospital patients with heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction who were prescribed angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker at discharge
• Long-stay nursing home residents who were assessed and given pneumococcal vaccination
• Patients with colon cancer who received recommended treatment: surgical resection of colon specimen that had 12 or more regional lymph nodes pathologically examined
10 quality measures worsening at the highest rate
• Children ages 19 to 35 months who received three or more doses of Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine
• Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
• Adults age 40 and older with diagnosed diabetes who had their feet checked for sores or irritation in the calendar year
• Postoperative pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis per 1,000 surgical admissions, age 18 and older
• Admissions for asthma per 100,000 population, age 65 and older
• Adults age 40 and older with diagnosed diabetes who received two or more hemoglobin A1c measurements in the calendar year
• Suicide deaths per 100,000 population
• Women ages 21 to 65 who received a Pap smear in the last three years
• Admissions with stage III or IV pressure ulcer per 1,000 medical and surgical admissions of length 5 or more days
• Admissions with diabetes with short-term complications per 100,000 population, age 18 and older
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AHRQ identified 10 quality measures that have improved at the fastest pace and 10 measures that have worsened at the fastest pace for at least four years. To be deemed "improving" or "worsening," measures must change at a rate greater than 1 percent per year. For the majority of measures, quality data from 2000 to 2002 was compared with data from 2008 to 2010.
10 quality measures improving at the highest rate
• Adult surgery patients who had prophylactic antibiotics discontinued within 24 hours after surgery end time
• Adult surgery patients who received prophylactic antibiotics within one hour prior to surgical incision
• Hospital patients with heart attack who received percutaneous coronary intervention within 90 minutes of arrival
• Hospital patients age 65 and older with pneumonia who received a pneumococcal screening or vaccination
• Hospital patients age 50 and older with pneumonia who received an influenza screening or vaccination
• Hospital patients with pneumonia who had blood cultures collected before antibiotics were administered
• Hospital patients with heart failure who were given complete written discharge instructions
• Hospital patients with heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction who were prescribed angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker at discharge
• Long-stay nursing home residents who were assessed and given pneumococcal vaccination
• Patients with colon cancer who received recommended treatment: surgical resection of colon specimen that had 12 or more regional lymph nodes pathologically examined
10 quality measures worsening at the highest rate
• Children ages 19 to 35 months who received three or more doses of Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine
• Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
• Adults age 40 and older with diagnosed diabetes who had their feet checked for sores or irritation in the calendar year
• Postoperative pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis per 1,000 surgical admissions, age 18 and older
• Admissions for asthma per 100,000 population, age 65 and older
• Adults age 40 and older with diagnosed diabetes who received two or more hemoglobin A1c measurements in the calendar year
• Suicide deaths per 100,000 population
• Women ages 21 to 65 who received a Pap smear in the last three years
• Admissions with stage III or IV pressure ulcer per 1,000 medical and surgical admissions of length 5 or more days
• Admissions with diabetes with short-term complications per 100,000 population, age 18 and older
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10 Statistics on the State of Healthcare Quality, Equity10 Medical Conditions With the Highest Readmission Rates
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