Area hospitals meet death rate average

Ben McNeely

Aug. 25, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- CONCORD -- Hospitals in the northeast corridor of the Charlotte metro region met the national averages in death rates for patients who suffer from heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.

That's according to Medicare, which released the data collected on a new Web site where people can compare hospitals side-by-side.

CMC-NorthEast in Concord, Rowan Regional Medical Center in Salisbury and Stanly Regional Medical Center in Albemarle all rated within the U.S. average in death rates for the main ailments reported.

"Hospital performance is a complex thing to track," said Dr. Roger Ray, chief medical officer for Carolinas HealthCare System. "Patients deserve safety, effectiveness, customer service. There is no one measure that encompasses everything."

The Medicare Web site is just one measurement, but it comes with caveats. Medicare only reports data concerning patients who have the government-sponsored health plan. Medicare also reports mortality data 30 days out from a hospitalization and records a death within its categories whether or not the patient actually died from a heart attack or pneumonia, said Dr. Stephen Wallenhaupt, chief medical officer for Novant Health.

"Say you are hospitalized for pneumonia and released, but two weeks later you die in a car wreck," Wallenhaupt said. "Medicare will record that as a pneumonia death."

That can cause confusion among the public about mortality rates, Wallenhaupt said, as Medicare does not take into account what age the patient is, how sick the patient is and if the patient refuses medical treatment.

"There are a lot of variables there," Wallenhaupt said.

The Medicare Web site sets very specific standards on which each hospital are rated, Wallenhaupt said, so there is a level playing field. Medicare also sets an average range for each measure. A hospital's score is measured against that range.

But smaller regional hospitals may have a higher score than a larger academic medical center -- and for many reasons, said Ray.

"If you are a regional referral center, they may have bigger challenges," Ray said.

Stanly Regional Medical Center in Albemarle, for example, had a slightly higher mortality rate for heart attack and pneumonia cases. Spokesman Ben Jolly said in an e-mail that the data allows for transparency in sharing information with patients.

"The mortality data also offers clinicians and hospitals new insights into opportunities to improve care," Jolly said. "A key point to keep in mind is that the mortality measure is just one piece of information about the care hospitals provide."

Ray said a hospital takes into account many different ratings to create more of a cumulative view of the quality of care they provide.

"They way I look at these ratings is that they allow us to ask questions, but they may not necessarily provide answers," Ray said.

--Contact Ben McNeely: 704-789-9131

Newstex ID: KRTB-0293-27674583