Vital New Quality Data on Hospital Readmission Rates Available on Hospital Compare...

Vital New Quality Data on Hospital Readmission Rates Available on Hospital
Compare Website

WASHINGTON, July 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, released for the first
time on Hospital Compare (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) are hospital
readmission rates for Medicare patients with heart attack, heart failure and
pneumonia. This vital new quality information for health care consumers,
clinicians and hospitals expands information offered by CMS and supported by
the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) - a broad working group of hospital
groups, consumer representatives, physician and nursing organizations,
employers and payers, oversight organizations and government agencies
dedicated to improving health care quality and making useful and
understandable information about hospital quality available to the public.

The new data provide to the public and hospitals information on how often a
Medicare patient with one of the three conditions returns to a hospital within
30 days of being discharged. The readmission rates are being added to
information already available on how often hospitals take the right steps to
provide care for these patients, as well as updated information on mortality
rates.

The issue of hospital readmissions has been cited by the policymakers and the
Administration as a potential opportunity for improving health care quality
and reducing unnecessary health care spending. Until now, hospitals have had
only information on those patients who return to their own hospital, but not
about patients who were readmitted to a different hospital. The information
on Hospital Compare shows how often a Medicare patient with one of these
conditions returns to the same hospital or a different hospital within 30 days
following their initial stay.

Hospitals are placed in one of three categories based on their readmission
rate in relation to a national readmission rate - "no different than the U.S.
national rate," "better than the U.S. national rate" or "worse than the U.S.
national rate" - to provide results that are clear and understandable to
patients and consumers. Each hospital's readmission rates for the specific
condition also can be compared to its state's average. Additionally, each
rate is shown as a single number, along with a confidence interval that
indicates the range of certainty in which the hospital's true performance
falls.

The methodology used to calculate the readmission rates uses Medicare billing
records from July 2005 to June 2008. The information being made available
today on Hospital Compare represents an important starting point from which
providers can learn and take additional steps in their efforts to reduce
readmissions.

Hospitals, other health care providers and community organizations can work
together to understand the readmission rate information and investigate
factors that may contribute to hospital readmissions, such as the availability
of primary and hospice care in the community or transportation challenges
patients might face in getting to follow-up appointments.

The new update joins a growing collection of clinical care information on the
Hospital Compare Web site - the product of the collaboration of public and
private sector organizations known as HQA. HQA members work together to
improve the quality of care provided by the nation's hospitals by measuring
and publicly reporting information about hospital care. A key goal of the HQA
is to collect and report data on a robust set of standardized and
easy-to-understand hospital quality measures. The HQA is continuing its
efforts to identify the most meaningful information to include on the Hospital
Compare Web site in the future to help inform patient and clinical decision
making.

The HQA will continue to put forward National Quality Forum-endorsed measures
that will expand the range of information that assess the care provided to
patients suffering from common conditions that are the primary causes of
hospitalization. More than 4,000 hospitals - including virtually all
acute-care hospitals - have voluntarily submitted quality information to share
with the public through the Web site

What members of the Hospital Quality Alliance are saying about the new
information:

John Rother, executive vice president for policy, AARP:
"AARP believes that publishing comparative information on hospital performance
is a powerful tool to stimulate and encourage quality improvement. AARP is
pleased that with each new enhancement, the Hospital Compare Web site becomes
more useful to patients and their clinicians by offering information that can
inform their decisions about care in the hospital and help them identify high
performing facilities."

Gerry Shea, assistant to the president for government affairs, AFL-CIO:
"Hospital quality measures are an essential building block for health care
reform that controls costs while improving quality. Today's posting on
Hospital Compare of critically important measures about hospital readmissions
and mortality rates is a robust addition to the information consumers,
hospitals and clinicians have at their disposal for improving quality and
making health care decisions. In addition, this data provides insights into
the concerns that have been raised about the strain on Medicare finances
stemming from readmissions. Finally, the availability of this data on
Hospital Compare is a good example of the effectiveness of collaboration
between federal agencies and a broad range of health care stakeholders."

Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO, American Hospital Association:
"America's hospitals have long been committed to improving patient care and
welcome the opportunity to use all of the information on the Hospital Compare
Web site to gain new insights into how to strengthen quality. In particular,
the new information on readmission rates gives hospitals a broad look at how
their patients receive care both inside a hospital and after they have been
discharged. With the new information now in hand, hospitals will seek to
understand why patients are readmitted and how some of those readmissions can
be prevented through appropriate changes in care delivery."

Rita Munley Gallagher, PhD, RN, senior policy fellow, American Nurses
Association:
"Registered nurses are instrumental in ensuring coordination of care for
patients. Among the myriad of responsibilities that they have, nurses work
closely with patients and their families during transitions in care which
significantly reduces the potential for unplanned readmissions."

Joanne Conroy, M.D., chief health care officer, Association of American
Medical Colleges:
"The Association of American Medical Colleges and its member teaching
hospitals are pleased that Hospital Compare is continuing to expand its
measures of hospital quality - which now include readmission rates for
patients with certain conditions and more accurate data on patient mortality.
We encourage hospitals and their patients to use all of the data available on
the Web site to engage in important conversations about health care quality
and about the improvements each hospital is making in clinical care delivery."

Deborah Ness, co-chair, Consumer-Purchaser Disclosure Project and president,
National Partnership for Women & Families:
"All consumers, and particularly those with multiple and/or chronic
conditions, want better information about where they can go to receive care
that is coordinated and patient-centered, and where they will receive the best
health outcomes," said National Partnership for Women & Families President
Debra L. Ness, who Co-chairs the Consumer-Purchaser Disclosure Project.

"By offering access to national and state data on hospital readmission rates,
Hospital Compare is providing consumers with a powerful new tool that can help
them make these critically important and often difficult decisions.
Particularly in light of the focus on overuse in the health care reform
debate, we applaud the new inclusion of readmission measures and support HQA
and CMS' work to expand Hospital Compare's breadth and depth."

Chip Kahn, president, Federation of American Hospitals
"The release of publicly reported readmissions, mortality and patient
experience of care measures is good for consumers and patients; it offers an
opportunity for hospitals to assess themselves and to use objective and
comparable information to further improve the quality of care and service to
their communities."

About Hospital Compare
The Hospital Quality Alliance, a landmark public-private partnership of
hospitals, government agencies, quality experts, purchasers, consumer groups
and other health care organizations. The HQA believes that the availability
and use of clinical quality, patient experience, equity, efficiency, and
pricing information will spur positive changes in health care delivery. A
cornerstone of our collaboration is Hospital Compare
(www.HospitalCompare.hhs.gov) which publicly reports hospital performance in a
consistent, unified manner to ensure the availability of credible information
about the care delivered in the nation's hospitals.

Members of the HQA include:
AARP
AFL-CIO
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
America's Health Insurance Plans
American Hospital Association American Medical Association American Nurses
Association
Association of American Medical Colleges Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Association Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Consumer-Purchaser
Disclosure Project Federation of American Hospitals
The Joint Commission
National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions National
Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems National Business Coalition
on Health
National Quality Forum
Society for Critical Care Medicine
U. S. Chamber of Commerce
Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality

For more information about the HQA and its partners, please visit
www.hospitalqualityalliance.org.

SOURCE Hospital Quality Alliance

Alyssa Keefe of Hospital Quality Alliance, +1-202-478-9927