16
PATIENT
EXPERIENCE
Hospitals in close proximity to one another can
have complication rates two to three times as high as
others in their vicinity. For instance, in Denver, com-
plication rates for hip replacement surgery varied
across hospitals from 3.9 percent to 13.6 percent.
Few hospitals claim superior performance across
all 33 conditions and procedures analyzed. For
example, of the 14 Chicago hospitals that picked up
a five-star rating for heart attack treatment, eight of
them received one star for total knee replacement.
One might assume that cities with the most
hospitals would contain the most five-star facilities,
but Healthgrades negated this correlation. A greater
amount of choice does not guarantee better out-
comes. In several cities, while 30-plus hospitals treat
certain conditions, only a handful earned five-star
ratings. Take Houston for example: Of the area's 38
hospitals that treat chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, only one has a five-star rating for the
condition.
When presented with objective information
about the physician experience, patient satisfaction
and hospital outcomes, 85 percent of patients would
choose a different physician than the one the selected
prior to "doing their homework."
Healthgrades analyzed roughly 45 million Medi-
care patient records for approximately 4,500 short-
term hospitals nationwide to create the 2016 report.
e firm assessed hospital performance for the
Medicare population from 2012 through 2014 and
one condition (appendectomy) based on all-payer
data from 2011 through 2013. Healthgrades analyzed
mortality and complication rates for 33 condition or
procedure cohorts, including heart failure, stroke,
sepsis, diabetic emergencies, hip replacement, spinal
fusion and pneumonia. (A complete listing is found
on page 9 of the report.)
Healthgrades adjusts for risk factors that in-
fluence patient outcomes, such as age, gender and
co-morbidities. n
two
six
three
four
five
208
Hospital
&
Health
System
Executive
Speakers
BECKER'S
7
th
ANNUAL
MEETING
April 27-30, 2016
Chicago
KEYNOTES
BY
FORMER
PRESIDENT
GEORGE
W.
BUSH,
DR.
JOHN
H.
NOSEWORTHY,
CEO
OF
MAYO
CLINIC
&
DR.
DAVID
FEINBERG,
CEO
OF
GEISINGER
HEALTH
REGISTER
NOW
www.beckershospitalreview.com/conference/
