Based on 2000-2002 mortality rates for Medicare beneficiaries, there is a 33-percentage point spread between the risk-adjusted mortality ratios achieved in the best 10% of hospitals and the bottom 10%. If hospitals with mortality rates that are higher than expected brought deaths down to levels that were expected given their patient mix, the improvement would save approximately 17,000-21,000 lives per year.
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Schoen, Cathy, Karen Davis, Sabrina How, and Stephen Schoenbaum. "U.S. Health System Performance: A national scorecard". Health Affairs. Vol. 25, No. 6, pp. 457-475. [ Permalink ] |