Patient safety experts and leaders from top-performing hospitals continue to criticize the reliability of quality measures reported to CMS for the federal Hospital Compare website, according to a Washington Post report.
A recent Kaiser Health News analysis showed that of 3,330 hospitals, 190 had "high levels" of patient complications. Of the 190 hospitals that were flagged as high risk, 82 were major teaching hospitals, according to the report.
Some industry leaders and patient safety advocates have long praised public reporting of quality measures as a step in the right direction. There are others, however, who believe the metrics may not paint a true picture of hospitals' performance.
George Blike, MD, anesthesiologist and medical director of patient safety at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., said not all of the federal quality metrics are "ready for prime time," according to the report. Other quality experts echo Dr. Blike's reservations. Earlier this year, an NQF panel advised against tying patient safety measures to provider payments due to concerns about the reliability of Medicare claims, which the federal government uses to calculate each hospital's performance. Donald Goldmann, a senior vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, said the data sources are not "refined enough" to make comparisons between hospitals, according to the report.
A recent Kaiser Health News analysis showed that of 3,330 hospitals, 190 had "high levels" of patient complications. Of the 190 hospitals that were flagged as high risk, 82 were major teaching hospitals, according to the report.
Some industry leaders and patient safety advocates have long praised public reporting of quality measures as a step in the right direction. There are others, however, who believe the metrics may not paint a true picture of hospitals' performance.
George Blike, MD, anesthesiologist and medical director of patient safety at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., said not all of the federal quality metrics are "ready for prime time," according to the report. Other quality experts echo Dr. Blike's reservations. Earlier this year, an NQF panel advised against tying patient safety measures to provider payments due to concerns about the reliability of Medicare claims, which the federal government uses to calculate each hospital's performance. Donald Goldmann, a senior vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, said the data sources are not "refined enough" to make comparisons between hospitals, according to the report.
Related Articles on Quality Reporting:
Utah Infection Reporting Bill One Step Closer to Becoming Reality
Depth of Infection Reporting Should Be Limited to Reflect True Quality
CMS Launches Preview of Value-Based Purchasing Measure