Georgia hospital deaths higher than national average

Nine Georgia hospitals rated worse than national norms on death rates for pneumonia or heart failure — a higher number than all states but California.

Such mortality rates for hospitals across the nation recently were released by a federal agency, which is expanding its report cards on the quality of health care.

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It’s the first time consumers are able to compare hospital death rates for patients admitted for three conditions: pneumonia, heart failure and heart attack.

The Hospital Compare Web site, run by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, shows 80 U.S. hospitals listed as top performers in the mortality rates for patients admitted with heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia. No Georgia hospitals were among the best performers.

Nationwide, 103 hospitals, including the nine Georgia hospitals, were rated worse than the national average for one or more conditions. Eight of the nine in Georgia were poor performers in pneumonia.

Bill Custer, director of the Center for Health Services Research at Georgia State University, said he was surprised about the Georgia hospitals’ ratings.

The Georgia data “signal problems with the reaction of hospitals to pneumonia,” said Custer, who added that Medicare does a good job in adjusting for the severity of patients’ conditions.

“Some of these [Georgia] hospitals may have been unlucky” with their mix of patients, he said.

The best test would come over time – and whether a hospital improves its performance on pneumonia, Custer said.

The Georgia Hospital Association said it did not have an explanation for the hospital ratings on pneumonia. Kevin Bloye, a GHA vice president, said the hospital organization is forming a coalition of physicians and hospital officials “to make us more competitive” on patient care measures. “We’re working to improve our performance, to improve the health of every Georgian,” he said.

One of the nine hospitals cited in Georgia, Rockdale Medical Center in Conyers, said the pneumonia patients admitted to its facility were “severely sick.” Their average age was 86, added Mike Potter, CEO of Rockdale Medical. “We score better than the national average in most categories on Hospital Compare.”

Nevertheless, Potter said, the hospital would study the pneumonia data “to make sure our processes are appropriate.”

“We see this as both a challenge and an opportunity to improve care,” he said.

Medicare’s Hospital Compare is already providing patient-satisfaction rates for hospitals. The site (www.hospitalcompare.hhs

.gov) also gives information about whether hospitals follow appropriate procedures for treating medical conditions, such as giving a beta blocker to a heart-attack patient.

The Web site can help a consumer pick a hospital, but federal officials caution that the data shouldn’t be the sole factor in such a decision.

On the expanded Medicare site, the mortality data represent the percent of patients who die within 30 days of being admitted to a hospital for heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia. All patients studied were enrolled in original Medicare, the government insurance program for people 65 and older and the disabled, and received hospital care from July 2006 to June 2007.

The rates are “risk adjusted” so that a hospital will not have a higher rate solely because it admits patients with more severe illnesses. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also provided an estimate range, similar to a survey’s margin of error.

Hospitals were rated better or worse than the national average when their estimate range was entirely above or below the national average. Of 4,465 hospitals, 96 percent were rated as no different than the national average.

The latest data emerge as part of a health care information age that has blossomed after an initial push from employers, said Lisa McGiffert, policy analyst with Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.

“Employers buy health care for many people, and they want to be sure they’re getting the best, most efficient care for their dollars,” she said.

The public’s thirst for medical data, meanwhile, has also increased. Several states and organizations, including Consumers Union, are providing information to the public, such as mortality rates by physician, and the prescription drugs rated “best buy” in their class.

The future, said McGiffert, will bring more consumer-friendly data on hospital and physician care.