The New York Times summarized the findings of an important and alarming new comprehensive study:
“Researchers have found that patients at the worst American hospitals were three times more likely to die and 13 times more likely to have medical complications than if they visited one of the best hospitals.”
The study, in the academic journal PLOS One, shows “there is considerable variation in outcomes that really matter to patients, from hospital to hospital, as well as region to region,” Dr. Thomas H. Lee, M.D., a longtime healthcare executive not involved in the research, told The Times.
The Times reported that “The study’s authors looked at 22 million hospital admissions, including information from both the federal Medicare program and private insurance companies, and analyzed them using two dozen measures of medical outcomes. Adjusting the results for how sick the patients were and other factors, like age and income, the researchers discovered widespread differences among hospitals. Even a hospital that had excellent outcomes for heart care might have poor outcomes in treating diabetes.”
To read the study, please hit this link.
To read The New York Time’s article on it, please this link.
