Hospital Specific Reports, 2006

Volume Indicators

This measure is simply a count of hospital admissions for any given procedure. The counts presented here are of relatively rare and specialized procedures for which scientific research suggests that performing more of the procedure often leads to better patient outcomes. In the accompanying displays, procedure counts are shown compared to a “threshold” number identified by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) as the point at which improved patient outcomes have been observed. While volume is not a direct measure of quality of care, it is useful in gauging how much experience a particular hospital has for a given procedure.

Death Rates (Mortality)

The death rate is the number of patients admitted for a specific procedure or condition who died in the hospital, divided by the total number of patients admitted for that procedure or condition.  However, because the patients’ age, sex, or severity of condition may increase their risk of death, the death rates for each hospital are adjusted to account for these factors. Other factors—for example, that some hospitals may transfer out all but the most mild or most severe cases—are not accounted for in the risk-adjustment methods used here.  Hence, while death rates constitute a more sensitive indicator of quality than mere procedure counts, they too should be considered in tandem with comments submitted by hospitals, as well as with other information about quality of care.