Ohio near top of national hospital quality ranking

Ohio was ranked as one of the top states in the nation for hospital patient safety in a new national report released this week (Source: "Healthgrades: Which states have the safest hospitals?" USA Today, Oct. 23, 2012).

The report from Healthgrades, a for-profit provider of information about physicians and hospitals, found that from 2005 to 2011, Arizona, California, Illinois and Ohio outperformed other states in treating patients for coronary artery bypass grafts, heart attacks, pneumonia and sepsis. While those four states were highlighted,  the report found that quality varied significantly between states across the country.

The rankings are based on an analysis of data released annually by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and look at how approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide performed on risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for nearly 30 of the most common conditions and procedures.