Researchers examined how hospital differences in patient preferences for life-sustaining treatments (DNR orders) affected hospital rankings for pneumonia.
Singapore Hospital Recalls 178 Children Cared For By Nurse With TB For Test
The nurse was treated for her cough in July. But the cough persisted and she was given a CT scan which showed a possible TB patch in her lung the size of a 50-cent coin.
The nurse was treated for her cough in July. But the cough persisted and she was given a CT scan which showed a possible TB patch in her lung the size of a 50-cent coin.
‘Patient decisions about life-sustaining treatments in the statistical models resulted in substantial changes to hospital rankings that could affect hospital ratings.’
"Our findings suggest that current methods of comparing hospitals, which do not account for patient DNR status, penalize potentially high-quality hospitals admitting a larger proportion of patients who had chosen to forego resuscitation. Therefore, accounting for DNR status in programs that compare hospital mortality outcomes may substantially affect publicly reportable hospital rankings and hospital reimbursements," explained corresponding author Allan Walkey, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and a pulmonary, allergy, sleep & critical care physician at Boston Medical Center. According to Walkey these findings have significant ramifications for methods used to assess patient outcomes and hospital quality. "Without accounting for patient preferences for life-sustaining treatments, hospitals admitting more patients who chose a 'DNR' status appeared to be poorer quality hospitals for patient mortality measures. However, our results suggested the opposite: hospitals with a larger number of patients who chose 'DNR' status tended to have greater patient satisfaction, high performance on measures of pneumonia care, and lower mortality after accounting for patient 'DNR' preferences. Our results also demonstrate the importance of collecting data regarding patient decisions for life-sustaining care and accounting for these decisions when comparing hospitals. Improving our ability to determine hospital 'quality' will facilitate efforts to improve care for all patients," he added.
Source-Eurekalert
Controlling Spread of Drug-Resistant Bacteria in Hospitals
When patients with drug-resistant bacteria are admitted to hospitals without showing symptoms caused by the bacteria, there is a potential for spread to others.
When patients with drug-resistant bacteria are admitted to hospitals without showing symptoms caused by the bacteria, there is a potential for spread to others.
Hospital-To-Home Transition Adds Stress On Caregivers And Patient�s Recovery
Transitions from hospital to home affect the lives of families in ways that may impact patient outcomes at discharge.
Transitions from hospital to home affect the lives of families in ways that may impact patient outcomes at discharge.
Hospital Staff Suspended and Transferred Over Infant Deaths in Kolkata
The bereaved parents also accused the hospital of misleading on the cause of the death in the death certificate.
The bereaved parents also accused the hospital of misleading on the cause of the death in the death certificate.
