Bayhealth Medical Center announced HealthGrades bestowed a five-star rating for the quality of Bayhealth’s cardiac and critical care. HealthGrades is an independent healthcare ratings organization. The recognition is based on HealthGrades’ 12th annual Hospital Quality in America study, released Tuesday, Oct. 13. The study analyzes patient outcomes at nearly all of the nation’s hospitals.
“We are extremely pleased to be recognized once again by HealthGrades for our commitment to providing high-quality healthcare services to the patients we serve,” said Bayhealth President and Chief Executive Officer Terry Murphy, FACHE. “This honor is a testament to our dedication in providing high-quality critical and cardiovascular care to meet the needs of the patients in our community.”
The HealthGrades study, the largest annual report of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes in nearly 40 million Medicare hospitalization records from 5,000 hospitals over the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. This year’s study found that across all 17 procedures and diagnoses in which mortality was studied, there was an approximate 72 percent lower chance of dying in a five-star-rated hospital compared to a one-star-rated hospital, and a 52 percent lower chance of dying in a five-star hospital compared with the national average.
If all hospitals performed at the level of a five-star-rated hospital across the 17 procedures and diagnoses studied, 224,537 Medicare lives could potentially have been saved from 2006 through 2008.
HealthGrades’ hospital ratings and awards reflect the track record of patient outcomes at hospitals in the form of mortality and complication rates. HealthGrades rates hospitals independently based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government.
No hospital can opt in or out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated.
For 28 procedures and treatments, HealthGrades issues star ratings that reflect the mortality and complication rates for each category of care.
Hospitals receiving a five-star rating have mortality or complication rates that are below the national average, to a statistically significant degree. A three-star rating means the hospital performs as expected. One-star ratings indicate the hospital’s mortality or complication rates in that procedure or treatment are statistically higher than average.
Because the risk profiles of patient populations at hospitals are not alike, HealthGrades risk-adjusts the data to allow for apples-to-apples comparisons.
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