A study by health care information company HCIA-Sachs has named the MUSC Medical Center as one of the 100 top hospitals for the treatment of stroke victims. Also, U.S. hospitals potentially could avoid an estimated 5,000 inpatient deaths annually, reduce related complications by 36 percent and lengths of stay by 10 percent, and discharge 22 percent more people to their homes rather than to nursing homes. As part of the 100 Top Hospitals study program, this research identifies hospitals across the country that set the benchmarks. These stroke outcome benchmarks are achievable, providing a target for many hospitals to improve patient outcome, Chenoweth said. And by naming the hospitals that have set performance benchmarks, we hope the underlying clinical care and system differences will be identified and shared throughout the industry.
Stroke is an especially troubling and costly life-threatening emergency.
Strokes strike an estimated 600,000 Americans annually and approximately one-third of all survivors will have a recurrent stroke within five years. It is the third leading cause of death, killing an estimated 160,000 Americans annually. And given the demographics of an aging U.S. population, incidence of stroke is likely to increase. The 100 Top Stroke Hospitals treated twice as many stroke patients as peer hospitals. Categorically, the benchmark teaching hospitals with neurology residency programs were able to discharge 74 percent of treated stroke patients to their homes rather than to nursing homes, compared to 65 percent of stroke patients treated at peer hospitals.