Study findings show public hospital quality ratings, such as those published by HealthGrades and U.S. News & World Report, may be misleading and fail to identify other high-volume hospitals of equal quality, according to research published in the Archives of Surgery.
For their study, researchers conducted a retrospective cross-section study utilizing Medicare data from 2005-2006. In all, the researchers studied outcomes of more than 82,000 patients who underwent pancreatectomy, esophagectomy or colectomy. The risk-adjusted mortality rates of published "best hospitals" and all other hospitals were compared after controlling for patient volumes.
The researchers discovered risk-adjusted mortality, after accounting for hospital volume, was only significantly lower for U.S. News & World Report's best hospitals for colectomy. HealthGrades' best hospital did not demonstrate any improvement compared to other hospitals for all three procedures.
HealthGrades issued a press released, blasting the study findings and claiming the study’s methodology contains several flaws, including comparing two disparate groups of patients and (compared to HealthGrades) using only a small fraction of Medicare data.
Read the study about hospital quality rankings.
Related Articles on Hospital Quality:
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For their study, researchers conducted a retrospective cross-section study utilizing Medicare data from 2005-2006. In all, the researchers studied outcomes of more than 82,000 patients who underwent pancreatectomy, esophagectomy or colectomy. The risk-adjusted mortality rates of published "best hospitals" and all other hospitals were compared after controlling for patient volumes.
The researchers discovered risk-adjusted mortality, after accounting for hospital volume, was only significantly lower for U.S. News & World Report's best hospitals for colectomy. HealthGrades' best hospital did not demonstrate any improvement compared to other hospitals for all three procedures.
HealthGrades issued a press released, blasting the study findings and claiming the study’s methodology contains several flaws, including comparing two disparate groups of patients and (compared to HealthGrades) using only a small fraction of Medicare data.
Read the study about hospital quality rankings.
Related Articles on Hospital Quality:
Michigan Hospitals Launch Healthy Food Initiatives to Improve Population Health
12 California Hospitals Fined by Department of Public Health for Patient Safety Violations
Mortality for High-Risk Surgery Declines Over Last 10 Years