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May not be reprinted or reproduced without permission from Health Grades, Inc.
Patient Safety Methodology 2005
(2001 2003 Medicare Data)
Introduction
data for virtually every hospital in the country to determine patient safety outcomes.
HealthGrades used Medicare inpatient data from the MedPAR database (purchased from the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; 2001 2003 data) and
Patient Safety Indicator software
(Version 2.1, Revision 3a) from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to analyze the
following 13 patient safety indicators (PSI):
·
Prevention of death in procedures where mortality is usually very low
·
Lack of pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital
·
Ability to diagnose and treat in time
·
Absence of foreign body left in during procedure
·
Avoidance of collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest
·
Lack of infections acquired at the hospital
·
Absence of hip fracture after surgery
·
Avoidance of excessive bruising or bleeding as a consequence of a procedure or surgery
·
Adequate organ function and electrolyte and fluid imbalance after surgery
·
Avoidance of respiratory failure following surgery
·
Lack of deep blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery
·
Avoidance of severe infection following surgery
·
Lack of surgical wound site breakdown
The AHRQ software uses advanced statistical algorithms that can predict the number of patient safety
incidences likely to occur at a hospital based on such factors as the mix of types of cases treated at that
hospital. This information is used to determine an overall patient safety rating for a hospital as well as an
individual rating for each patient safety indicator.
