Study: Patient death risk halved in top-ranked hospitals

A report released Tuesday by Colorado-based HealthGrades Inc. concludes that patients have a 51.53 percent lower risk of dying in a top-rated hospitan than in U.S. hospitals in general (Source: “HealthGrades: Patients half as likely to die at best hospitals,” Dayton Business Journal, Oct. 13, 2009)

The study (pdf, 110 pages) is based on analysis of hospital mortality related to 17 procedures and diagnoses at 5,000 non-federal U.S. hospitals, according to HealthGrades.

"The fact is, patients are twice as likely to die at low-rated hospitals than at highly rated hospitals for the same diagnoses and procedures," Dr. Rick May, an author of the HealthGrades study, said in a statement. "With Washington focused on rewarding high-quality hospitals and empowering patients to make more informed health care choices, this information comes at a turning point in the health care debate."