Study results from Yale University suggest the quality of care at safety net hospitals is comparable to quality at other types of hospitals despite the unique financial challenges safety net hospitals face.
Researchers studied a population that included fee-for-service Medicare patients age 65 or older who were hospitalized from Jan. 1, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2008, with acute myocardial infarction, heart failure or pneumonia. They then compared death and readmission rates at safety net hospitals and non-safety net hospitals.
The team found that mortality and readmission outcomes were effectively identical at safety-net and non-safety-net hospitals in urban metro areas. The researchers suggest that safety-net hospitals have the potential to achieve equal, or even better, outcomes than non-safety-net hospitals under the healthcare reform law.
Researchers studied a population that included fee-for-service Medicare patients age 65 or older who were hospitalized from Jan. 1, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2008, with acute myocardial infarction, heart failure or pneumonia. They then compared death and readmission rates at safety net hospitals and non-safety net hospitals.
The team found that mortality and readmission outcomes were effectively identical at safety-net and non-safety-net hospitals in urban metro areas. The researchers suggest that safety-net hospitals have the potential to achieve equal, or even better, outcomes than non-safety-net hospitals under the healthcare reform law.
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