The quality ratings of 26 procedures and diagnoses at nearly 5,000 hospitals just released by HealthGrades are available at HealthGrades.com. They cover cardiac care, orthopedics, vascular surgery, neurosciences and pulmonary medicine. New categories added this year include atrial fibrillation, gastrointestinal bleed, sepsis, prostatectomy, cholecystectomy and bowel obstruction.
A five-star rating in a given category reflects performance statistically better than expected, a three-star rating reflects care at an expected or average level, while a one-star rating reflects care significantly worse than expected. HealthGrades updates the hospital ratings annually and analyzes the most recent three-year period for which national data of this type is available. This currently includes the years 2000-2002.
HealthGrades' ratings are compiled using advanced statistical techniques and raw data taken from Medicare files licensed from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). HealthGrades risk-adjusts the hospital data, taking into account patient characteristics such as age, gender and pre-existing medical conditions of patients treated at different hospitals, in order to make accurate and fair comparisons. HealthGrades compares the actual and the predicted mortality or complication rates for specific procedures and diagnoses to assign a one-, three-, or five-star rating. The full methodology is available at HealthGrades.com.
About HealthGrades
Health Grades, Inc. (OTCBB:HGRD) is the leading independent healthcare quality company, providing ratings, information and advisory services to healthcare providers, employers, health plans and insurance companies. HealthGrades also provides consumers access to information about health care providers and practitioners through its web site. At HealthGrades.com, consumers access profiles of more than 620,000 physicians, 5,000 hospitals, 16,000 nursing homes, 10,000 mammography clinics, 300 fertility clinics, 60,000 chiropractors, 6,000 home health agencies, 75 birth centers and 3,000 hospice care facilities. HealthGrades is also working closely with the Leapfrog Group to disseminate information on hospital patient safety activities to consumers, payers and employers.
Editor's Note: The full HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study can be found at http://www.healthgrades.com.
