America's Best and Worst Hospitals

(CBS/ AP)  Death rates for heart attack and heart failure patients in the U.S. vary significantly from hospital to hospital. This is according to the most comprehensive study of its kind released Thursday by Medicare researchers. Over one million patients at over 4,600 hospitals were surveyed.

Based on data from government statistics, the report found:

The average 30-day death rate for heart attack was 16.6 percent and the average rate of heart attack readmission was 19.9 percent.

The average 30-day death rate for heart failure was 11.1 percent and 24.4 percent for readmission.

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WebMD: Tips for Choosing a Hospital

Top 3 Hospitals with Lowest Heart Attack Death Rates

Heart Hospital Of Austin,(TX) -- 10.9%
New York-Presbyterian (NY )-- 11.1%
NYU hospital Center (NY) -- 11.1%


CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reports that the care can very widely. At the Heart Hospital of Austin in Texas, only 10.9 percent of patients died from their heart attacks compared to 24.9 percent at Southwest Mississippi Regional in McComb.

"This suggests that patients' outcomes are dependent, at least in part, on the hospital that provides their care," Krumholz said in an American Heart Association press release.

"Not only do one out of 5 patients come right back into the hospital but most have never seen a doctor from the time of release to the time they come back. That's not good medical care," said Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.

The government put all the data online, so patients can see how their hospital stacks up on everything from nursing care to blood clot treatments-and hospitals can see how they measure up to their competitors.

Patients should also consider doctor recommendations, distance and insurance coverage when choosing a hospital.

CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said, "all hospitals might not be equally good or bad at everything. So if you have a choice, you might want to go to one hospital for a hip replacement but choose another for your breast biopsy."

Dr. Ashton said the ratings are a big part of the equation. "But you want to find a good doctor you trust who works with a great nursing staff who can give you personalized attention that might be at a big hospital, that also might be at a smaller community hospital."

[Sloughfoot]

Two of the low scoring hospitals are from the lower economic areas of this Country. Often lower economic areas also suffer from reduced education, medication availability, transportation issues for follow up checks, etc. As many have stated, the article really lacks sufficient data to be informative.

[payasyougo]

"America's Best and Worst Hospitals"
---
So which one does the folks in Congress go to?

[erasmus111]

"Not only do one out of 5 patients come right back into the hospital but most have never seen a doctor from the time of release to the time they come back. That's not good medical care,"


It most certainly isn't. When you enter a hospital here, in British Columbia, before you leave, you are given appointments for follow-ups with your specialist and doctor. The hospital will even call you after a few days to see how you are doing.

[stn_sage]

I wouldn't draw any specific conclusions based on this article; other than, prudence and common sense dictates that a person might want to find out where their local hospital(s) rate, just to know, and preferably BEFORE you need to go in!!

[riho08]

Isn't this fun? Lambasting hospitals and doctors for failing to do the obvious? the "right" thing? For those who have not read the report, a closer look at the people who are having the heart attacks and returning to the hospital, their race/ethnicity and more important, their perceptions of risk is illuminating. The recidivists, those who come back, go home in a state of denial, and vigorously refuse any helping hand from relatives or people who come out and make home visits. Medicine taking, doctors appointments, dietary instructions all fall on a deaf ear. There are cultural reasons for some of these death defying behaviors and medical establishment distrust, these belief systems need to be addressed on a community basis as well as individually. If you want to know why the discrepancies, look at the cliental, and it is as plain as day.

[txlakeside]

Some idiots just can not read an article and follow the links. The idea of a synopsis or overview of a reasearch article is beyond some dumb as dirt readers! Stop blaming the messenger and read the entire message .... dumb as dirt! Others infer that only the fat and obese have heart attacks. My slender, fit 50 year old friend who just went through bypass surgury would argue with that! Some folks just like to complain and moan about any news outlet story provided. I suggest you stop reading the ones you think are worthless and then just post crybaby complaints among your peers on a web site your create ... opps so sorry, you are too big of a crybaby to learn html, Wordpress or other CMS software. It is a free story, you did not pay for it, stop whining! And for the dumb as dirt that brought abortion into the comments .... YOU ARE JUST DUMB AS DIRT!

[erasmus111]

"Others infer that only the fat and obese have heart attacks. My slender, fit 50 year old friend who just went through bypass surgury would argue with that!"


Yes, that's true. There are many people that have heart problems and heart attacks and are not fat. My mom and my brother have had heart attacks, and neither one of them are over weight.

[healthcarenotdzscare]

"Others infer that only the fat and obese have heart attacks. My slender, fit 50 year old friend who just went through bypass surgury would argue with that!" I am sorry for your friend and having heart surgery as a fit 50 year old. She did her part to prevent heart disease and genetics or just bad luck counteracted that.
My point was that of all those who have heart attacks (acute myocardial infarctions) the overwhelming majority are either some, a few or many of the following: overweight by a lot, eat many fat rich foods like McDonalds sells, smoke, don't exercise regularly other than the remote control/TIVO, or have high blood pressure and don't take their meds regularly. There are a few very unlucky ones (less than 5% of society) like your friend, that got bad genes and developed heart disease anyway - but they are so very, very few. We must as a society, in general, empower the patient to change their lifestyles to change their mortality and morbidity.
I once heard a statement (can't place the source any more so any help is appreciated) - "Ancient man had to try really hard to be sure he ate, modern man has to try really hard not to."
YMMV

[erasmus111]

I watched a program where a doctor was saying that you had to shop around for where you get your meds, because the prices could very GREATLY. He said the same was true for hospitals. And not only money wise, but for care too. They quoted a price of approximately $15,599 for an appendectomy and $15,995 for a broken leg, at one hosptital. (The leg is more that the appendectomy!!) And at another hospital the broken leg cost 9,000. That is outragious that there would be such a difference in price. And they were saying that there was a big difference in the care you got from one hospital to the other. THAT IS SCARY!

And the fact that you can pay $75 for a particular anitbiotic at one pharmacy and at another it's only $10, is absolutely ridiculous!

[erasmus111]

AND on the show was the women that had the appendectomy and her husband was the one that had the broken leg. The husband waited 2 days with his broken leg before going to the hospital because of the cost. PITIFUL!

And the end of the show the doctor asked the couple if they felt any better now that they knew how things worked. The couple said that they did, but you could tell by the expression on their faces that they didn't. HELLO!? Who the hell in their right mind would feel better to find out that, "YES", they were indeed being ripped off and taken advantage of. Geez.

[erasmus111]

by kristianinal July 9, 2009 9:32 AM PDT
My wife is an Emergency Dr. I can tell you from what I have heard from her...the hospital you are in determines whether you live or die in many cases.


Boy, am I glad I don't live in the U.S.

[nsabucco]

As a cardiac nurse, the vast majority of readmissions for CHF are because the patient disregards the teaching we provide; i.e. not taking meds as prescribed, not limiting sodium in diet, etc. All healthcare provides can do is educae; it is up to the patient to decide what to do with the information. This report was portrayed as CHF readmissions being the fault of the patients' care. Just another biased report I have come to expect from the news media. Try to remember your rules from intro to journalism.

[gravyboat4000]

What they need is an intro to healthcare. I've worked in hospitals all my life, the media NEVER gets the story right.

Nothin but a bunch of half truths and filler, to excite the reader/viewer.

[whymayiask]

They need a correction in their wording then.