M.D. Potential users include individual hospitals and hospital associations, managed care organizations and state and local health agencies. The new tool was developed in partnership with state hospital associations, state agencies and quality experts. Seven complication rates during hospitalization, such as urinary tract infection following major surgery, also are calculated. HCUP QIs indirectly evaluate access to primary care by identifying eight conditions that may result in hospitalization, such as immunization-preventable pneumonia among the elderly. These are hospitalizations thought to be avoidable when there is adequate access to primary care in the community.
Users are able to compare rates across payer categories, and patient racial or ethnic groups.
They also can compare data with groups of similar hospitals, with benchmarks such as Healthy People 2000 targets, or with the experience of a single hospital or group of hospitals tracked over time. HCUP QIs have been widely field tested and their measures adopted by a number of hospitals, hospital associations, state health departments and other organizations. Users include the Colorado Hospital Association, Maryland Hospital Association, Utah and Washington state health departments, and the Hawaii Health Information Corporation. To access more detail on the QIs, select the HCUP QI fact sheet . The latest QI software is Version 1.2, which can be downloaded from the HCUP Quality Indicators Summary .