Age-Related Differences in Hospital Quality of Care for Acute Myocardial Infarction: Getting to the Heart of the Matter
Authors: David W. Baker
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Editorials17 October 2017Age-Related Differences in Hospital Quality of Care for Acute Myocardial Infarction: Getting to the Heart of the MatterDavid W. Baker, MD, MPHDavid W. Baker, MD, MPHFrom The Joint Commission, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-2363 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail When a patient or family member looks for data to guide their choice of hospital care, they face a bewildering array of reporting systems and measures. If transparency were achieved by sheer volume, things could not be better—but in fact, the opposite is true. The vast number of quality and safety measures and the many organizations releasing hospital rankings are overwhelming, and the rating systems often disagree (1). Ideally, patients could find a single source of valid data to provide information on the best hospital to care for their unique medical and psychosocial needs. This is challenging because hospital performance ...References1. Austin JM, Jha AK, Romano PS, Singer SJ, Vogus TJ, Wachter RM, et al. National hospital ratings systems share few common scores and may generate confusion instead of clarity. Health Aff (Millwood). 2015;34:423-30. [PMID: 25732492] doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0201 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Rosenthal GE, Harper DL. Cleveland health quality choice: a model for collaborative community-based outcomes assessment. Jt Comm J Qual Improv. 1994;20:425-42. [PMID: 8000481] MedlineGoogle Scholar3. Dharmarajan K, McNamara RL, Wang Y, Masoudi FA, Ross JS, Spatz EE, et al. Age differences in hospital mortality for acute myocardial infarction: implications for hospital profiling. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:555-64. doi:10.7326/M16-2871 LinkGoogle Scholar4. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Hospital Compare. 2017. Accessed at www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html on 1 September 2017. Google Scholar5. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Learning Network. Hospital Value-Based Purchasing. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; September 2015. Accessed at www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNProducts/downloads/Hospital_VBPurchasing_Fact_Sheet_ICN907664.pdf on 1 September 2017. Google Scholar6. Baker DW, Chassin MR. Holding providers accountable for health care outcomes. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:418-23. [PMID: 28806793]. doi:10.7326/M17-0691 LinkGoogle Scholar7. Chassin MR, Loeb JM, Schmaltz SP, Wachter RM. Accountability measures—using measurement to promote quality improvement. N Engl J Med. 2010;363:683-8. [PMID: 20573915] doi:10.1056/NEJMsb1002320 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From The Joint Commission, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. Form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-2363.Corresponding Author: David W. Baker, MD, MPH, The Joint Commission, One Renaissance Boulevard, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181; e-mail, [email protected]org.This article was published at Annals.org on 26 September 2017. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAge Differences in Hospital Mortality for Acute Myocardial Infarction: Implications for Hospital Profiling Kumar Dharmarajan , Robert L. McNamara , Yongfei Wang , Frederick A. Masoudi , Joseph S. Ross , Erica E. Spatz , Nihar R. Desai , James A. de Lemos , Gregg C. Fonarow , Paul A. Heidenreich , Deepak L. Bhatt , Susannah M. Bernheim , Lara E. Slattery , Yosef M. Khan , and Jeptha P. Curtis Metrics Cited byAssociation of Inclusion of Medicare Advantage Patients in Hospitals’ Risk-Standardized Readmission Rates, Performance, and Penalty Status 17 October 2017Volume 167, Issue 8Page: 593-594KeywordsAcute myocardial infarctionHealth care qualityInformation storage and retrievalMortalityQuality improvementResearch designSafetySt segment elevation myocardial infarctionTreatment guidelinesYoung adults ePublished: 26 September 2017 Issue Published: 17 October 2017 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2017 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...