What are the Hospital Process of Care Measures?

A process of care measure shows how often hospitals give recommended treatments known to get the best results for patients with certain medical conditions or surgical procedures. Information about these treatments are taken from the patients' records and converted into a percentage. This is one way to compare the quality of care that hospitals give.

This information will help you compare the quality of care provided at Nebraska Heart Hospital   to the national average. Talk to your doctor about this information to help you or your family make your hospital care decisions.

The hospital process of care measures include:

• Heart Attack care

• Heart Failure care

• Surgical Care Improvement

Health care experts and researchers constantly evaluate evidence to make sure these guidelines and measures are kept up-to-date. Occasionally, guidelines and measures are revised to reflect new evidence. 

What are the Hospital Outcome of Care Measures?

"Outcome of Care Measures" shows what happened after patients with certain conditions received hospital care.

• Mortality rates focus on whether patients died within 30 days of their hospitalization.

• Rates of readmission show whether patients were hospitalized again within 30 days.

• Mortality rates and rates of readmission show whether a hospital is doing its best to prevent complications, teach patients at discharge, and ensure patients make a smooth transition to their home or another setting, such as a nursing home.

Data for hospital mortality rates and rates of readmission are taken from Medicare records for patients 65 and older. These rates are calculated using Medicare enrollment, claims records, and a complex statistical procedure. The mortality rates and rates of readmission are "risk-adjusted", meaning that the calculations take into account how sick patients were when they went in for their initial hospitalization. Risk-adjusted rates help make hospital comparisons fair and meaningful.