Franciscan Physicians Hospital today announced that it has received 5 stars for the quality of its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease care from Healthgrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make an informed decision about a physician or hospital. This recognition is part of new findings released today in American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, which evaluates the performance of approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide across nearly 30 procedures and conditions. A 5-star quality measurement indicates that Franciscan Physicians Hospital’s clinical performance is better than expected.
Healthgrades also released today new research conducted by Harris Interactive that underscores the importance of educating consumers on the importance of clinical outcomes. According to the research, consumers said a hospital’s location is virtually as important to them as its mortality rate, at 83% and 87% important/very important, respectively. Healthgrades bases its objective hospital quality measures solely on clinical performance and updates them annually, free to the public. The 2013 performance outcomes are now available at www.healthgrades.com.
Other notable Healthgrades recognitions include:
Pulmonary
- Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease for 3 Years in a Row (2011-2013)
Barb Greene, president of Franciscan Physicians Hospital, states, “The unwavering devotion and care of our staff builds the platform upon which these recognitions are achieved. We’re continually evaluating opportunities for practice improvement with the primary goal of providing outstanding care to those we so fortunately serve throughout our Northwest Indiana communities.”
For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 40 million Medicare hospitalization records for services performed from 2009 through 2011 at approximately 4,500 short-term, acute care hospitals nationwide. Healthgrades found that patients treated in hospitals receiving 5 stars had, on average, 75% lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals receiving 1 star (across 18 common procedures and diagnoses, such as heart bypass surgery, stroke, and pneumonia).
In this year’s report, Healthgrades also analyzed findings over its last five study periods (2005-2011) to provide an overview of trends in hospital quality over a longer period. Among its key findings, Healthgrades found that the nation’s average in-hospital risk-adjusted mortality rate improved 22% for procedures and conditions studied by Healthgrades over the last seven years.
Efforts to solidify this five-star recognition at the Munster-based facility include the purchase and installation of new CT and MRI technologies. Patients achieve further benefit from the hospital’s development and implementation of a comprehensive discharge packet and video presentation, which provides physician follow-up appointments and post-discharge information. A physician-led smoking cessation protocol was established to ensure each patient receives all available resources to quit tobacco use.
Healthgrades independently measures hospitals based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being measured, and no hospital pays to be measured. Healthgrades risk adjusts for patient demographic characteristics and clinical risk factors, thereby taking into account how sick patients are upon hospital admission.
More information on the American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation, including the complete methodology, can be found at www.healthgrades.com/quality.
About Franciscan Physicians Hospital
Franciscan Physicians Hospital, located in the heart of Munster, is a 63-bed acute care facility providing nearly 50 medical specialties and subspecialties including heart care, orthopedic surgery, imaging, diagnostic procedures and more. With a physician on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week and a staff of over 300 doctors, nurses and employees, Franciscan Physicians Hospital makes patient convenience a priority.
