Contact: Joe Martin
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NEW PHC4 REPORT ON HOSPITAL PERFORMANCE SHOWS LOWER MORTALITY AND READMISSION RATES
Harrisburg, PA – October 19, 2016 – A performance report of Pennsylvania hospitals shows significant statewide decreases in hospital mortality and readmission rates. Released today by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4), the report, known as the Hospital Performance Report, includes hospital-specific mortality and readmission ratings as well as volume of cases and hospital charges for patients discharged from Pennsylvaniaâs general acute care hospitals between January 1 and September 30, 2015. Statewide and regional trends were also examined.
âLower mortality and readmission rates point to Pennsylvaniaâs commitment, especially that of Pennsylvania hospitals, to providing quality care,â said Joe Martin, PHC4âs Executive Director. âReductions in the number of hospitalizations and readmissions for chronic conditions such as COPD and CHF are particularly noteworthy since these conditions can be significant cost drivers,â added Martin.
Comparing results from January-September 2010 to January-September 2015, the report shows significant decreases in statewide in-hospital mortality rates for ten of the 16 conditions for which mortality ratings were reportedâfindings that translate to almost 3,900 lives saved. Readmission rates fell significantly across a similar time frame (January-August 2010 to January-August 2015) in nine of the 13 conditions for which readmission rates were reported, suggesting an estimated 2,700 readmissions avoided in these nine treatment areas.
The 10 conditions showing significant declines in hospital mortality were:
- Septicemia: 16.1% to 10.2%
- Kidney Failure â Acute: 5.0% to 2.6%
- Pneumonia â Aspiration: 7.9% to 5.6%
- Heart Attack â Medical Management: 8.7% to 7.5%
- Colorectal Procedures: 2.8% to 1.7%
- Stroke: 4.4% to 3.6%
- Pneumonia â Infectious: 2.6% to 2.2%
- Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections: 0.8% to 0.4%
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): 0.9% to 0.6%
- Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): 2.9% to 2.6%
One condition, Hypotension and Fainting, had a significant increase in mortality, where the mortality rate increased from 0.1% to 0.4%.
The nine conditions with significant reductions in 30-day readmission rates were:
- Pneumonia â Aspiration: 25.3% to 21.6%
- Kidney Failure â Acute: 23.6% to 20.1%
- Gallbladder Removal â Open: 11.9% to 8.7%
- Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): 26.5% to 23.5%
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): 22.6% to 20.0%
- Stroke: 14.8% to 12.9%
- Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections: 17.7% to 15.9%
- Diabetes â Medical Management: 21.8% to 20.5%
- Pneumonia â Infectious: 17.1% to 16.0%
Only one condition, Chest Pain, saw a significant increase in the rate of readmission from 11.5% to 15.2%.
PHC4 publishes the Hospital Performance Report in three regional editionsâSoutheastern Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, and Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Copies are free and available from PHC4âs website at www.phc4.org.
PHC4 is an independent state agency charged with collecting, analyzing and reporting information that can be used to improve the quality and restrain the cost of health care in Pennsylvania.
