Ever wonder how well your local hospital performs in terms of patient care and safety? Online tools can help you find out.
Look to the stars. Medicare gathers hospital data regularly. It posts the information on its Care Compare website. To make comparisons simple, Medicare created a star rating system. Care Compare combines information about as many as sixty-four quality measures.
The star rating reflects these statistics:
- Quality. How many patients are readmitted within a month of being discharged. High readmission rates could indicate that patients are being sent home before they are fully healed. It could mean patients have not received the most up-to-date or recommended treatments. Or it could mean that patients have been released to a home situation that is not set up to handle the level of care they need.
- Timeliness. How quickly a recommended treatment is offered. For instance, how long was someone in the ER for a heart attack before they received an aspirin?
- Safety. This measures data such as infection rates after a surgery. Or the rate of general infections, such as MRSA. A high or low infection rate can indicate how carefully a hospital follows procedures to reduce the spread of disease.
- Patient experience. This is based on comments from patients after they are sent home from an inpatient stay.
The Hospital Safety Grade. The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit of large employers and private healthcare experts, assembles a report card–like Hospital Safety Grade. The report gives safety scores for nearly 3,000 hospitals across the country. It looks at issues such as
- infection rates after surgery
- communication among staff
- use of technology to reduce errors
Bottom line. If your loved one’s health coverage allows for a choice, research the options. Ratings and circumstances can change from year to year.
Do you need help finding quality care for a relative?
As the Roanoke and Lynchburg experts in aging well, we at Gentle Shepherd Hospice help family caregivers navigate the often-complex healthcare system and find the safest, highest quality options for their aging loved ones. We can offer our experience and insight to help you make decisions that prioritize both health and peace of mind. Give us a call at 1-800-789-0586 (toll-free) to learn more.