Based on observed and risk-adjusted mortality rates, patients in the highest-rated hospitals in the study had a 70 percent lower chance of dying than in the lowest-rated hospitals and a 50 percent lower chance of dying than the U.S. hospital average.
In addition, 54 percent of potentially preventable deaths were associated with just four diagnoses: sepsis (41,670 preventable deaths), pneumonia (31,671), heart failure (28,004) and respiratory failure (27,404).
The study also found a positive relationship between volume and quality of care for coronary bypass surgery, coronary interventional procedures and resection or replacement of the abdominal aorta.
Read HealthGrades’ study on Hospital Quality in America.
