Hospital Choice Could Mean Life or Death
Reported June 26, 2007
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — When the heart is involved, a woman’s choice of hospitals makes a huge difference as to whether she’ll come out of the experience alive.
The latest study from the health ratings organization, Health Grades, Inc., shows women who went to the best performing hospitals for cardiovascular disease (CVD) had a 39-percent lower risk-adjusted mortality rate than women who ended up in the worst performing hospitals.
The difference was greatest for heart failure care (a 46 percent lower risk of dying in best performing hospitals) and interventional cardiology procedures such as angioplasty (a 44 percent lower risk of dying).
The figures come from data collected at more than 500 hospitals in 19 states. When taken as a whole, they suggest nearly 16,000 lives could have been saved between 2003 and 2005 if all hospitals had performed up to the standards of those in the best performing category. The number would be even higher if all the hospitals in the nation were included in the analysis.
So, how can women ensure they are receiving the best possible care for their hearts? The investigators note 82 percent of women go online to look for health care information and 31 percent look for specific doctors or hospitals online, which leads them to conclude “this group of women understands that choosing the right health care provider could mean the difference between life and death.”
“Women should research their own CVD risk, manage that risk aggressively, and proactively research a hospital to go to in the event they have signs and symptoms of CVD,” the authors write.
SOURCE: Health Grades press release, published online June 25, 2007