Hospital Pediatric Patient Safety Rated by HealthGrades for First Time
August 04 2010 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Hospital-acquired infections are the leading cause of
potentially preventable mortality among pediatric patients,
according to a study of pediatric patient-safety incidents issued
today by HealthGrades, the leading independent health care ratings
organization.
The study utilized eight patient-safety indicators developed by
the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, to analyze the prevalence
of patient-safety events at hospitals as well as to identify
hospitals that performed above average.
Examining all hospitals in the 19 states that make data publicly
available, the first annual HealthGrades Pediatric Patient Safety
in American Hospitals Study analyzed five million pediatric patient
records over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 and identified 25,367
patient-safety events and 1,465 potentially preventable inhospital
deaths. Of the deaths, 70.44% were associated with
hospital-acquired infections (postoperative sepsis and central
venous catheter-related infections).
Pediatric patient-safety incidents in the following eight
categories were studied:
- Accidental puncture or
laceration
- Pressure ulcer
- Avoidance of collapsed lung
- Postoperative hemorrhage or
hematoma
- Postoperative respiratory
failure
- Postoperative sepsis
- Postoperative wound dehiscence
(wound-site breakdown)
- Central venous catheter-related
infections
The study found that one in 208 pediatric patients experienced a
potentially avoidable patient-safety event in a hospital during the
three years studied.
Of the 2,080 hospitals studied, 97 had pediatric patient-safety
event rates that were statistically lower than other hospitals.
These hospitals are identified on www.healthgrades.com as
recipients of the HealthGrades Pediatric Patient Safety Excellence
Award™. Pediatric patients at these hospitals had, on average, a
29.48% lower risk of experiencing one or more of the eight
patient-safety events compared with all other hospitals. If all
hospitals performed at this level, approximately 6,532 pediatric
patient-safety events could potentially have been avoided over the
three years studied.
“After a decade of work in examining the quality of care at the
nation’s hospitals, HealthGrades is now evaluating the state of
pediatric patient safety,” said Rick May, M.D., vice president of
clinical quality improvement services at HealthGrades and a
co-author of the study. “And while the data show both improvements
and regression, there is a subset of hospitals that are
consistently avoiding patient-safety incidents, setting benchmarks
for other hospitals to follow.”
The four pediatric patient-safety incidents showing the highest
rates per 1,000 patients were postoperative sepsis (24.05),
postoperative respiratory failure (18.62), pressure ulcers (3.72)
and central venous catheter-related infections (2.41).
Of the eight pediatric patient-safety incidents examined, four
indicators showed improvement over the three years studied, while
four worsened. Those showing improvement were central venous
catheter-related infections, postoperative hemorrhage or hematoma,
postoperative respiratory failure, and postoperative wound
dehiscence. The other four incidents showed a rise in incidence
levels.
The 19 state governments that make pediatric patient records
available for analysis are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida,
Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah,
Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
The complete methodology and study can be found at
www.healthgrades.com.
About HealthGrades
Health Grades, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGRD) is the leading independent
health care ratings organization, providing quality ratings,
profiles and cost information on the nation’s hospitals,
physicians, nursing homes and prescription drugs. Millions of
patients and many of the nation’s largest employers, health plans
and hospitals rely on HealthGrades’ quality ratings, advisory
services and decision-support resources. The HealthGrades Network
of websites, including HealthGrades.com and WrongDiagnosis.com, is
a top-five health property according to ComScore and is the
Internet's leading destination for patients choosing providers.
More information on how HealthGrades guides America to better
health care can be found at www.healthgrades.com.
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