There is much data to help patients decide on a hospital. But, which data is valuable and worth your attention? How do we compare two hospitals with different patient demographics in different locations? Are we making fair comparisons?
A recent study by health economists at M.I.T. and Vanderbilt, found that hospitals that score better on certain metrics reduce mortality. Among the ones they examined were patient satisfaction scores.
Using data from 2008 to 2012, they compared Medicare patients needing emergency care who lived in the same ZIP code, but were served by different ambulance companies and, therefore, tended to be delivered to different hospitals with different quality scores.
According to the study, a hospital with a satisfaction score that is 10 percentage points higher — 70 percent of patients satisfied versus 60 percent, for example — has a mortality rate that is 2.8 percentage points lower and a 30-day readmission rate that is 1.9 percentage points lower.
“Though hospital quality measures are not perfect, our work provides some reasons to be optimistic about some of them,” Mr. Doyle said. “Hospitals that score well on patient satisfaction, follow good processes of care and record lower hospital mortality rates over the prior three years do seem to keep patients alive and out of the hospital longer, ”added Joseph Doyle, an economist at M.I.T. and one of the study’s authors.
To read more, access the New York Times July 24, 2017 article by Austin Frakt