Hospital mortality rates continue to drop

Pregnancy rates for U.S. women continue to drop.

The pregnancy rate for U.S. women in 2009 was 102.1 per 1,000 women aged 15-44, the lowest level in 12 years; only the 1997 rate of 101.6 has been lower in the last 30 years. Rates for women under age 30 fell during 1990-2009, while rates for women aged 30 and over increased. Rates for teenagers reached historic lows in 2009, including rates for the three major race and Hispanic origin groups. ...

Measuring Hospital Performance Using Mortality Rates: An Alternative to the RAMR

Background The risk-adjusted mortality rate (RAMR) is used widely by healthcare agencies to evaluate hospital performance. The RAMR is insensitive to case volume and requires a confidence interval for proper interpretation, which results in a hypothesis testing framework. Unfamiliarity with hypothesis testing can lead to erroneous interpretations by the public and other stakeholders. We argue t...

Why do hospital costs continue to increase?

Why Do Hospital Costs Continue To Increase?

Inter-hospital comparison of mortality rates.

OBJECTIVE To compare crude and adjusted in-hospital mortality rates after prostatectomy between hospitals using routinely collected hospital discharge data and to illustrate the value and limitations of using comparative mortality rates as a surrogate measure of quality of care. METHODS Mortality rates for non-teaching hospitals (n = 21) were compared to a single notional group of teaching ho...