PA Hospitals: PHC4 Report Shows Quality is High /CAUTION -- ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 2:00 A.M. EST WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29/ /ADVANCE/ HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) today released the following statement by President and CEO Carolyn F. Scanlan in response to the 2002 Hospital Performance Report issued by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4): "The data in the PHC4 report show that mortality rates in Pennsylvania's hospitals are below national averages - a solid indicator of hospitals' commitment to patient safety and continuous quality improvement that benefits the more than 1.8 million people who depend on us each year for inpatient care. "Pennsylvania's hospitals continue to provide their patients with high- quality medical care, despite crushing financial burdens that have put more hospitals in jeopardy. HAP's most recent figures show that more than 7 of 10 hospitals in Pennsylvania are losing money on patient care. "Skyrocketing medical liability insurance costs, persistent shortages of key medical professionals, escalating disaster/bioterrorism preparedness costs, and ongoing reimbursement shortfalls from Medicare and Medicaid leave hospitals with little or no financial wiggle room and threaten patient access to care. "The bottom line for consumers is that they should take an active role in their health care by educating themselves about health care quality, asking questions, and taking advantage of all the information available from hospitals, physicians, and health care educators. "Hospitals remain committed to increasing the quality of care. The complexity and multiple medical needs of patients challenge hospitals in the delivery of care. They constantly strive to care for patients safely and effectively." Information for health care consumers is available on HAP's website at http://www.haponline.org/audiences/consumers. HAP is a statewide membership services organization that advocates for nearly 250 Pennsylvania acute and specialty care, primary care, subacute care, long-term care, home health, and hospice providers, as well as the patients and communities they serve. DATASOURCE: The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania CONTACT: Roger H. Baumgarten, Director, Media Relations, HAP, +1-717-561-5342, Cell: +1-717-329-9537, Web site: http://www.haponline.org/ http://www.haponline.org/audiences/consumers

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