unimaginative2
Senior Member
Death rate numbers public
Link to full report
Now citizens can find out how their hospital stacks up against others
Nov 29, 2007 03:20 PM
Tanya Talaga
Health Reporter
The Toronto Star
Canadians are now able to find out what the death rate is like at their local hospital - a move health care experts say will improve patient safety and quality.
For years, hospital administrators have known what death rates are like inside their hospital but those numbers were never made public until today.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information released a new report that compares the actual number of deaths in hospital with the average Canadian experience.
The measure, called the hospital standardized mortality ratio, is based after a model used in the United Kingdom. Hospitals are given a ratio over the national average which is represented by 100.
If a hospital has a score above 100 - such as The Scarborough Hospital, which was given a score of 124/100 for all cases, including palliative care - that means they are 24 points above the national average of 100.
Dr. Steven Jackson, chief of medical staff at The Scarborough Hospital, said they are committed to moving their numbers down to make and beat the national average.
"Everyone is buying into this," he said. "Quality is where we are going."
One of the best performing hospital systems in the Toronto area is the University Health Network made up of Princess Margaret, Toronto Western and Toronto General hospitals. Their number for all cases is 85/100.
Reporting these numbers to the public is "crucial", said Dr. Robert Bell, president and CEO of the health network. "You can't manage it if you can't measure it."
For years, the hospital has focused on patient safety. When the board of directors meet, they talk patient safety before finances, said Bell.
Other Toronto area numbers include the Toronto East General Hospital, which has a number for all cases of 98/100 and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, with 102/100.
During the last three years that the health institute has tracked the death rate numbers for the purpose of this report, they have seen the overall average number fall by 6 per cent.
"This is an important moment," said Phil Hassen, head of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute - a group created by the provinces and federal government nearly three years ago in order to build a safer system.
It's hoped that by publicizing hospital death rates, hospitals will be able to see where problems are, fix and improve them.
Link to full report
Now citizens can find out how their hospital stacks up against others
Nov 29, 2007 03:20 PM
Tanya Talaga
Health Reporter
The Toronto Star
Canadians are now able to find out what the death rate is like at their local hospital - a move health care experts say will improve patient safety and quality.
For years, hospital administrators have known what death rates are like inside their hospital but those numbers were never made public until today.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information released a new report that compares the actual number of deaths in hospital with the average Canadian experience.
The measure, called the hospital standardized mortality ratio, is based after a model used in the United Kingdom. Hospitals are given a ratio over the national average which is represented by 100.
If a hospital has a score above 100 - such as The Scarborough Hospital, which was given a score of 124/100 for all cases, including palliative care - that means they are 24 points above the national average of 100.
Dr. Steven Jackson, chief of medical staff at The Scarborough Hospital, said they are committed to moving their numbers down to make and beat the national average.
"Everyone is buying into this," he said. "Quality is where we are going."
One of the best performing hospital systems in the Toronto area is the University Health Network made up of Princess Margaret, Toronto Western and Toronto General hospitals. Their number for all cases is 85/100.
Reporting these numbers to the public is "crucial", said Dr. Robert Bell, president and CEO of the health network. "You can't manage it if you can't measure it."
For years, the hospital has focused on patient safety. When the board of directors meet, they talk patient safety before finances, said Bell.
Other Toronto area numbers include the Toronto East General Hospital, which has a number for all cases of 98/100 and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, with 102/100.
During the last three years that the health institute has tracked the death rate numbers for the purpose of this report, they have seen the overall average number fall by 6 per cent.
"This is an important moment," said Phil Hassen, head of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute - a group created by the provinces and federal government nearly three years ago in order to build a safer system.
It's hoped that by publicizing hospital death rates, hospitals will be able to see where problems are, fix and improve them.
