Hospital Compare

• Patient survey results
• Timely and effective care
• Readmissions, complications and deaths
• Use of medical imaging
• Linking quality to payment
• Medicare volume

Readmissions

What is this, and why is it important?

• The rates of unplanned readmission focus on whether patients who were discharged from a hospital stay were hospitalized again within 30 days. Patients may have been readmitted back to the same hospital or to a different hospital. They may have been readmitted for a condition that is related to their recent hospitalization or for an entirely different reason.
• Rates of unplanned readmission show whether a hospital is doing its best to prevent complications, provide clear discharge instructions to patients and help patients make a smooth transition to their home or another setting like a nursing home.
• The hospital readmission rates are based on people with Original Medicare (traditional fee-for-service Medicare) who are 65 and older. The heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia unplanned readmission measures also include patients aged 65 or older who were admitted to Veteran's Health Administration (VA) hospitals. These rates are calculated using Medicare enrollment and claims records, and a complex statistical procedure known as hierarchical logistic regression modeling. The readmission rate is risk-adjusted, meaning that the calculations take into account how sick patients were when they were first hospitalized. Risk-adjusting the readmission rate helps make comparisons accurate and meaningful, especially for hospitals that treat sicker patients.

• Health System Readmissions Data

Health Care-associated Infections

Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections

• A central line is a narrow tube inserted by a doctor into a large vein of a patient’s neck or chest to give important medical treatment. When not put in correctly or kept clean, central lines can become an easy way for germs to enter the body and cause serious infections in the blood. These infections are called central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), and they can be deadly. CLABSIs are mostly preventable when health care providers use infection control steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• This measure compares the number of central line-associated bloodstream infections in certain locations in a hospital to a national benchmark.
  

Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections

• A catheter is a drainage tube that is inserted by a doctor into a patient’s urinary bladder through the urethra and is left in place to collect urine while a patient is immobile or incontinent. When not inserted correctly or kept clean, or if left in place for long periods of time, catheters can become an easy way for germs to enter the body and cause serious infections in the urinary tract. These infections are called catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), and they can cause additional illness or be deadly. CAUTIs are mostly preventable when health care providers use infection control steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• This measure compares the number of catheter-associated urinary tract infections in certain locations in a hospital to a national benchmark.
  

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Blood Laboratory Identified Events

Bloodstream Infections

• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics. MRSA infections in the bloodstream can be caught in hospital settings, and may cause severe or life-threatening symptoms.
• Hospital staff can prevent MRSA from being transmitted to patients by taking certain precautions, like washing hands; using protective gloves and gowns; sterilizing equipment between patients; covering the mouth, nose and eyes when appropriate; and practicing responsible use of antibiotics. Responsible use of antibiotics includes limiting the dosage to only what is needed to combat the infection, and avoiding the use of more powerful antibiotics when a narrow-spectrum antibiotic will work.
• Symptoms from MRSA infections often take a few days to develop. Patients are tested for MRSA bloodstream infections if they show signs of illness while in the hospital. This measure compares the number of MRSA-positive blood specimens collected 4 or more days after the patient entered the hospital to a national benchmark.
  

Clostridium difficile (C.diff.) Laboratory Identified Events

Intestinal infections

• Clostridium difficile (C. diff.) is a type of bacteria that causes inflammation of the colon. C. diff. infection can cause severe diarrhea, fever, appetite loss, nausea and abdominal pain.
• Hospital staff can prevent C. diff. from being transmitted to patients by taking certain precautions, like washing hands; using protective gloves and gowns; practicing responsible use of antibiotics; covering the mouth, nose and eyes when appropriate; and sterilizing equipment between patients. Responsible use of antibiotics includes limiting the dosage and length of treatment to only what is needed to successfully combat the infection, and avoiding the use of more powerful antibiotics when a narrow-spectrum antibiotic will work.
• Symptoms from C. diff. infections often take a few days to develop. Patients are tested for C. diff. infections if they show signs of illness while in the hospital. This measure compares the number of stool specimens that tested positive for C. diff. toxin 4 or more days after the patient entered the hospital to a national benchmark.

• Health System Infections Data