Outcomes: Our Numbers Tell the Story
Core Measures Show Quality
| AMI (Acute Myocardial Infarction): Core Measure Trends | |||||
| Measure | Percentage
Compliance with Standard of Care |
||||
BMH 12/31/2007 |
National
Average |
Top Ten Percent of Hospitals | |||
| Heart
Attack Patients Given ACE Inhibitory or ARB for Left
Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD) ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors and ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers) are medicines used to treat patients with heart failure and are particularly beneficial in those patients with heart failure and decreased function of the left side of the heart. Early treatment with ACE inhibitors and ARBs in patients who have heart failure symptoms or decreased heart function after a heart attack can also reduce their risk of death from future heart attacks. ACE inhibitors and ARBs work by limiting the effects of a hormone that narrows blood vessels, and may thus lower blood pressure and reduce the work the heart has to perform. Since the ways in which these two kinds of drugs work are different, your doctor will decide which drug is most appropriate for you. If you have a heart attack and/or heart failure, you should get a prescription for ACE inhibitors or ARBs if you have decreased heart function before you leave the hospital. |
90%
|
93%
|
100%
|
||
| Heart
Attack Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling) Smoking increases your risk for developing blood clots and heart disease that can result in a heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Smoking causes your arteries to thicken and your blood vessels to narrow. Fat and plaque stick to the walls of your arteries, which makes it harder for blood to flow. Reduced blood flow to your heart may result in chest pain, high blood pressure, and an increased heart rate. Smoking is also linked to lung disease and cancer, and can cause premature death. It is important that you get information to help you quit smoking before you leave the hospital. Quitting may help prevent another heart attack. Higher percentages are better. |
89%
|
90%
|
100%
|
||
| Heart
Attack Patients Given at Arrival The heart is a muscle that gets oxygen through blood vessels. Sometimes blood clots can block these blood vessels, and the heart can’t get enough oxygen. This can cause a heart attack. Chewing an aspirin as soon as symptoms of a heart attack begin may help reduce the severity of the attack. This chart shows the percent of heart attack patients who were given (or took) aspirin within 24 hours of arrival at the hospital. Higher percentages are better. |
98%
|
83%
|
100%
|
||
| Heart
Attack Patients Given Aspirin at Discharge Blood clots can block blood vessels. Aspirin can help prevent blood clots from forming or help dissolve blood clots that have formed. Following a heart attack, continued use of aspirin may help reduce the risk of another heart attack. Aspirin can have side effects like stomach inflammation, bleeding, or allergic reactions. Talk to your health care provider before using aspirin on a regular basis to make sure it’s safe for you. Higher percentages are better. |
94%
|
89%
|
100%
|
||
| Heart
Attack Patients Given Beta Blocker at Arrival Beta blockers are a type of medicine that is used to lower blood pressure, treat chest pain (angina) and heart failure, and to help prevent a heart attack. Beta blockers relieve the stress on the heart by slowing the heart rate and reducing the force with which the heart muscle contracts (to pump blood). Most heart attack patients should be given a beta blocker within 24 hours of arriving at the hospital. Higher percentages are better. |
97%
|
90%
|
100%
|
||
| Heart
Attack Patients Given Beta Blocker at Discharge Beta blockers are a type of medicine that is used to lower blood pressure, treat chest pain (angina) and heart failure, and to help prevent a heart attack. Beta blockers relieve the stress on your heart by slowing the heart rate and reducing the force with which your heart muscles contract to pump blood. They also help keep blood vessels from constricting in your heart, brain, and body. If you have a heart attack, you should get a prescription for a beta blocker before you leave the hospital. Higher percentages are better. |
97%
|
87%
|
100%
|
||
| Heart
Attack Patients Given Thrombolytic Medication Within
30 Minutes of Arrival The heart is a muscle that gets oxygen through blood vessels. Sometimes blood clots can block these blood vessels and the heart can’t get enough oxygen. This can cause a heart attack. Thrombolytic are medicines that can help dissolve blood clots in blood vessels and improve blood flow to your heart. You should get them within 30 minutes of arrival at the hospital. Higher percentages are better. |
no
cases in this period
|
30%
|
87%
|
||
| Heart Failure: Core Measure Trends | |||||
| Measure | Percentage
Compliance with Standard of Care |
||||
BMH 12/31/2007 |
National
Average |
Top Ten Percent of Hospitals | |||
| Heart
Failure Patients Given ACE Inhibitor or ARB for Left
Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD) ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors and ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers) are medicines used to treat patients with heart failure and are particularly beneficial in those patients with heart failure and decreased function of the left side of the heart. Early treatment with ACE inhibitors and ARBs in patients who have heart failure symptoms or decreased heart function after a heart attack can also reduce their risk of death from future heart attacks. ACE inhibitors and ARBs work by limiting the effects of a hormone that narrows blood vessels, and may thus lower blood pressure and reduce the work the heart has to perform. Since the ways in which these two kinds of drugs work are different, your doctor will decide which drug is most appropriate for you. If you have a heart attack and/or heart failure, you should get a prescription for ACE inhibitors or ARBs if you have decreased heart function before you leave the hospital. |
98%
|
82%
|
100%
|
||
| Heart
Failure Patients Given Assessment of Left Ventricular
Function (LVF) The proper treatment for heart failure depends on what area of your heart is affected. An important test is to check how your heart is pumping, called “the left ventricular function assessment.” It can tell your health care provider whether the left side of your heart is pumping properly. Other ways to check on how your heart is pumping include: • Your medical history. • A physical examination. • Listening to your heart sounds • Other tests as ordered by a physician (like an ECG (electrocardiogram), chest x-ray, blood work, and an echocardiogram) Higher percentages are better. |
98%
|
84%
|
100%
|
||
| Heart
Failure Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling Smoking increases your risk for developing blood clots and heart disease, which can result in a heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Smoking causes your blood vessels to thicken. Fat and plaque then stick to the wall of your blood vessels, which makes it harder for blood to flow. Reduced blood flow to your heart may result in chest pain, high blood pressure, and an increased heart rate. Smoking is linked to lung disease and cancer, and can cause premature death. It is important for your health that you get information to help you quit smoking before you leave the hospital. Higher percentages are better. |
88%
|
83%
|
100%
|
||
| Heart
Failure Patients Given Discharge Instructions Heart failure is a chronic condition. It results in symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, and fatigue. Before you leave the hospital, the staff at the hospital should provide you with information to help you manage the symptoms after you get home. The information should include: • Activity level (what you can and can’t do). • Diet (what you should, and shouldn’t eat or drink). • Medications. • Follow-up appointment. • Watching your daily weight. • What to do if your symptoms get worse. |
94%
|
63%
|
96%
|
||
| Pneumonia: Core Measure Trends | |||||
| Measure | Percentage
Compliance with Standard of Care |
||||
BMH 12/31/2007 |
National
Average |
Top Ten Percent of Hospitals | |||
| Pneumonia
Patients Given Oxygenation Assessment Pneumonia can lower the oxygen in your blood because the air spaces in your lungs fill with mucus. The oxygen you breathe does not get into your bloodstream. It is important that the amount of oxygen in your blood be measured within 24 hours of arriving at the hospital to see if you need oxygen therapy. The assessment may include an ABG (arterial blood gas) or pulse oximetry (electrodes attached to a part of your body like a finger, earlobe, or skin fold). % Compliance is the percent of patients who received this treatment when indicated. |
99%
|
99%
|
100%
|
||
| Pneumonia
Patients Assessed and Given Pneumococcal Vaccination The pneumococcal vaccine may help you prevent, or lower the risk of complications of pneumonia caused by bacteria. It may also help you prevent future infections. Patients with pneumonia should be asked if they have been vaccinated recently for pneumonia and, if not, should be given the vaccine. % Compliance is the percent of patients who received this treatment when indicated. |
75%
|
71%
|
96%
|
||
| Pneumonia
Patients Having a Blood Culture Performed Prior to
First Antibiotic Received in Hospital Different types of bacteria can cause pneumonia. A blood culture is a test that lets the health care provider know which bacteria may have caused your pneumonia, and which antibiotic should be prescribed. It is best to do the blood culture within 24 hours of arrival at the hospital and before antibiotics are started. It is also important to start antibiotics as soon as possible. A blood culture lets your health care provider know how to best treat you and if any precautions are necessary to prevent the spread of your illness. Higher percentages are better. |
87%
|
90%
|
100%
|
||
| Pneumonia
Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling Smoking damages your lungs and can make it hard to breath. Smoking increases your chances of getting pneumonia or other chronic lung diseases like emphysema and bronchitis. Smoking is also linked to lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke, and can cause premature death. It is important for you to get information to help you quit smoking before you leave the hospital. Quitting may reduce your chance of getting pneumonia again. Higher percentages are better. |
91%
|
81%
|
100%
|
||
| Pneumonia
Patients Given Initial Antibiotic(s) within 4 Hours
After Arrival Antibiotics are used to treat adults with pneumonia caused by bacteria. Early treatment with antibiotics can cure bacterial pneumonia and reduce the possibility of complications. This information shows the percent of patients who were given their first dose of antibiotics within 4 hours of arrival at the hospital. Patients who get pneumonia during their stay at the hospital are not counted in this measure. Higher percentages are better. |
83%
|
80%
|
100%
|
||
| Pneumonia
Patients Given the Most Appropriate Initial Antibiotic Pneumonia is a lung infection that is usually caused by bacteria or a virus. If pneumonia is caused by bacteria, hospitals will treat the infection with antibiotics. Different bacteria are treated with different antibiotics. Higher percentages are better. |
89%
|
84%
|
96%
|
||
| Pneumonia
Patients Given Influenza Vaccination The influenza vaccine may help you prevent, or lower the risk of complications of influenza caused by viruses. Patients with pneumonia should be asked if they have been vaccinated recently for influenza and, if not, should be given the vaccine. |
53%
|
70%
|
98%
|
||
| Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP): Core Measure Trends | |||||
| Measure | Percentage
Compliance with Standard of Care |
||||
BMH 12/31/2007 |
National
Average |
Top Ten Percent of Hospitals | |||
| Surgery
Patients Who Received Preventive Antibiotic(s) One
Hour Before Incision Antibiotics are medicines to prevent and treat infections. Research shows that surgery patients who get antibiotics within the hour before their operation are less likely to get wound infections. Getting an antibiotic earlier, or after surgery begins, is not as effective. This shows how often hospitals make sure surgery patients get antibiotics at the right time. Higher percentages are better. |
88%
|
78%
|
96%
|
||
| Surgery
Patients Whose Preventive Antibiotic(s) are Appropriatedly
Selected Certain antibiotics are recommended to help prevent wound infection for particular types of surgery. This measure looks at how often hospital surgical patients get the appropriate antibiotic in order to prevent a surgical wound infection. Infections continue to be the main preventable complication of most surgical procedures. Antibiotics are medicines to prevent and treat infections. By following the standard guidelines for timing and giving you the correct antibiotic drug, hospitals can reduce your risk of getting a wound infection after surgery. Hospitals can reduce the risk of wound infection after surgery by making sure patients get the right medicines at the right time on the day of their surgery. These quality measures show some of the standards of care. Higher percentages are better. |
94%
|
90%
|
99%
|
||
For comparative information on AMI, heart failure and pneumonia, and to learn more about the Hospital Compare program, go to www.HospitalCompare.hhs.gov.
“Our
mission is to provide superior healthcare services and to
improve the health of our community and we believe that disclosing
useful information to patients is one of the many ways we
fulfill our mission.”
—Pat Foulger, BMH Vice President
for Quality Services
