Reviewing care for California patients from 1999-2008, the study found that while outcomes for many patients may not change with more spending, patients treated for six specific conditions – including heart attack, pneumonia and stroke – had significantly higher survival rates at higher-spending hospitals.
For example, heart attack patients in the top-spending hospitals were 19 percent less likely to die than patients in the lowest-spending hospitals from 2004-2008. Authors said further research would look into which specific interventions improved patient survival.
Read the USC Annenberg report on hospital spending.
Read an abstract of the study.
Read more coverage of hospital spending and patient outcomes:
– Mass General Demonstration Saves Up to 7% on Medicare Patients
– 10 Points on the Upcoming Value-Based Purchasing Program for Hospitals
– 5 Statistics on the Most Expensive Hospital Stays
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