Grading New York State’s Hospitals

On Sunday, August 4, 2013 the Niagara Health Quality Coalition issued its 2013 New York State Hospital Report Card, grading more than 200 of New York State’s hospitals.

The Reported Facts

The 2013 New York State Hospital Report Card was based on 2011 information that more than 200 hospitals statewide used for patient billing and internal quality assurance. Unlike some quality assessments that only consider Medicare patients, this information covered all types of hospital patients.

Additionally, the data covers a large variety of medical conditions and procedures and is risk-adjusted, meaning it allows for comparison amongst the different hospitals regardless of the severity of the patients’ medical conditions.

The Use of These Reports and Statistics

Consumers are able to use the data from the Report to compare hospitals in their area or across the state.  They can also search and rank hospitals based on services provided for certain medical conditions or procedures.

These reports are best utilized by physicians when making a decision as to which hospital they should refer their patients.  For example, often times, doctors are not aware that a hospital they may refer a patient to has a statistically significant worse mortality rate in treating a particular condition than another hospital. But, if the doctor has access to this report, they can make a wiser decision as to which hospital will be most beneficial in treating their patient’s condition.

Furthermore, once doctors are aware of the lower standard of care in a particular hospital, they can put pressure on that facility to improve their standard of care.

It should be noted that the report notes an improvement in the statewide mortality rate and other indicators of patient safety.  However, there is still an increase in the rate of hospital-acquired infections, such as sepsis.

Call an Experienced New York Malpractice Attorney

If you or a loved one has suffered further health complications or injuries due to substandard care provided by a New York hospital, you may be entitled to medical malpractice compensation.

At Gersowitz, Libo & Korek, P.C. our New York medical malpractice attorneys will examine all aspects of your claim, determine liability, and aggressively pursue the full amount of compensation due to you or your loved ones for any injuries or loss of life resulting from medical malpractice.

Call us at 800.529.9997 to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our experienced New York medical malpractice attorneys today.