Dataset Information

Appraising hospital performance by using the JCHAO/CMS quality measures in Southern Italy.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The main objective of the present study was to estimate the uptake to quality indicators that reflect the current evidence-based recommendations and guidelines.

Methods

A retrospective review of medical records of patients admitted to two hospitals in the South of Italy was conducted. For the purposes of the analysis, a sets of quality indicators has been used from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organizations and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Four areas of care were selected: acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF), pneumonia (PN), and surgical care improvement project (SCIP). Frequency or median was calculated, as appropriate, for each indicator. A composite score was calculated to estimate the overall performance for each area of care.

Results

A total of 1772 medical records were reviewed. The adherence rates showed a wide-ranging variability among the selected indicators. The use of aspirin and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) for AMI, the use of ACEI or ARB for HF, the use of appropriate thromboembolism prophylaxis and appropriate hair removal for surgical patients almost approached optimal adherence. At the other extreme, rates regarding adherence to smoking-cessation counseling in AMI and HF patients, discharge instructions in HF patients, and influenza and pneumococcal vaccination in pneumonia patients were noticeably intangible. Overall, the recommended processes of care among eligible patients were provided in 70% for AMI, in 32.4% for HF, in 46.4% for PN, and in 46% for SCIP.

Conclusions

The results show that there is still substantial work that lies ahead on the way to improve the uptake to evidence-based processes of care. Improvement initiatives should be focused more on domains of healthcare than on specific conditions, especially on the area of preventive care.

SUBMITTER: Flotta D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3492134 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Appraising hospital performance by using the JCHAO/CMS quality measures in Southern Italy.

Flotta Domenico D Rizza Paolo P Coscarelli Pierluigi P Pileggi Claudia C Nobile Carmelo G A CG Pavia Maria M

PloS one 20121107 11

<h4>Objectives</h4>The main objective of the present study was to estimate the uptake to quality indicators that reflect the current evidence-based recommendations and guidelines.<h4>Methods</h4>A retrospective review of medical records of patients admitted to two hospitals in the South of Italy was conducted. For the purposes of the analysis, a sets of quality indicators has been used from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organizations and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servic ...[more]

PMID: 23145023

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundLowering hospital readmission rates has become a primary target for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, but studies of the relationship between adherence to the recommended hospital care processes and readmission rates have provided inconsistent and inconclusive results.ObjectiveTo examine the association between hospital performance on Medicare's Hospital Compare process quality measures and 30-day readmission rates for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure and pneumonia, and for those undergoing major surgery.Design, setting and participantsWe assessed hospital performance on process measures using the 2007 Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program. The process measures for each condition were aggregated in two separate measures: Overall Measure (OM) and Appropriate Care Measure (ACM) scores. Readmission rates were calculated using Medicare claims.Main outcome measureRisk-standardized 30-day all-cause readmission rate was calculated as the ratio of predicted to expected rate standardized by the overall mean readmission rate. We calculated predicted readmission rate using hierarchical generalized linear models and adjusting for patient-level factors.ResultsAmong patients aged ≥ 66 years, the median OM score ranged from 79.4 % for abdominal surgery to 95.7 % for AMI, and the median ACM scores ranged from 45.8 % for abdominal surgery to 87.9 % for AMI. We observed a statistically significant, but weak, correlation between performance scores and readmission rates for pneumonia (correlation coefficient R = 0.07), AMI (R = 0.10), and orthopedic surgery (R = 0.06). The difference in the mean readmission rate between hospitals in the 1st and 4th quartiles of process measure performance was statistically significant only for AMI (0.25 percentage points) and pneumonia (0.31 percentage points). Performance on process measures explained less than 1 % of hospital-level variation in readmission rates.ConclusionsHospitals with greater adherence to recommended care processes did not achieve meaningfully better 30-day hospital readmission rates compared to those with lower levels of performance.

Dataset Information

Appraising hospital performance by using the JCHAO/CMS quality measures in Southern Italy.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Appraising hospital performance by using the JCHAO/CMS quality measures in Southern Italy.

Similar Datasets

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