Healthgrades 2013 Patient Safety Excellence Report Demonstrates Variation in Patient Safety Outcomes and the Importance of Being an Informed Consumer

DENVER, April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthgrades, the leading online resource that helps consumers search, evaluate, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals, today issued a new report, "Variation in Patient Safety Outcomes and the Importance of Being Informed" that measures how well hospitals are keeping patients safe by preventing medical errors and avoidable complications.  As part of this report, Healthgrades recognized 379 hospitals across the nation as Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipients for 2013.  The distinction places this elite group of hospitals within the top 10% of all hospitals for their excellent performance in safeguarding patients from serious, potentially preventable complications during their hospital stays.

During the 2013 study period (2009-2011), Patient Safety Excellence Award hospitals showed better than expected performance in providing safety for patients in the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes (risk-adjusted patient safety indicator rates) across 13 of the 14 most common patient safety indicators, as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

When compared to hospitals performing in the bottom 5% for patient safety, Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipients had three patient safety indicators showing the largest difference in observed to expected ratios. On average, patients treated in Patient Safety Excellence Award hospitals were also:

• 81% less likely to experience hip fracture following surgery compared to hospitals ranked in the bottom 5% in the nation¹
• 80% less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital compared to hospitals ranked in the bottom 5% in the nation¹
• 70% less likely to experience a catheter-related bloodstream Infection acquired in the hospital compared to hospitals ranked in the bottom 5% in the nation¹

"Despite a wide variation in the level of care consumers can receive across hospitals, hospitals are working harder than ever to improve communication and decrease preventable patient safety events," said Evan Marks, EVP, Informatics and Strategy, Healthgrades.  "With the Healthgrades report, consumers can arm themselves with the information needed in order to understand what to expect from hospitals in terms of keeping patients safe and how well their local hospitals perform in this effort."

Today, Healthgrades also issued a report entitled, "Improving Patient Experience: Identifying the Things That Matter" that analyzes patient experience.  For more information about Healthgrades, to see the complete list of or Healthgrades 2013 Patient Safety Excellence Award or 2013 Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award recipients and related methodology, or to download a full copy of either report, please visit: www.Healthgrades.com/quality today.

About Healthgrades
Healthgrades, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. More than 225 million visitors use the Healthgrades websites to search, evaluate, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals that best meet their treatment needs.  Consumers are empowered through use of the Healthgrades proprietary information about clinical outcomes, satisfaction, safety, and health conditions to make more informed healthcare decisions and take action.  For more information please visit www.healthgrades.com and www.bettermedicine.com.

¹ Statistics are based on Healthgrades application of QI Windows® Software (version 4.4), developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

SOURCE Healthgrades