New HealthGrades Report Shows Patient Safety Trends

As reported in US News & World Reports

Certain types of medical errors are forty six percent less likely to occur at top-rated  hospitals than lower-ranked hospitals, according to a new HealthGrades study. Their researchers analyzed 40 million Medicare patient records from 2007 to 2009 and focused on 13 patient safety indicators, such as bed sores, bloodstream infections from catheters, foreign objects left in the body after procedures and excessive bleeding or bruising after surgery.

The patient safety indicators published by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality were used to identify preventable medical errors and which hospitals were in the top 5 percent for avoiding those errors.
Nationwide, hospitals varied widely in their performance, according to the annual HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals report, but some hospitals have made significant improvements, said study co-author Dr. Rick May, HealthGrades vice president of clinical quality service.

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http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/healthcare/articles/2011/03/09/hospital-safety-varies-widely-nationwide-report

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