Inpatient mortality: a reflection of quality care?
The debate surrounding mortality as a measure of healthcare quality is not a new one. In this article, the authors review the origin of mortality indices within the healthcare industry, explore the challenges and limitations to generating and risk adjusting mortality data, and discuss the relationship between institutional mortality and quality of care. The article ends with a summary of current sources of mortality data with which healthcare professionals need to be familiar.
Krauss
Janis
J
Department of Outcomes Management, Medical College of Georgia Healthcare Inc., BL-2084, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. jakrauss@mail.mcg.edu
Maclean
Ross
R
D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D003625:Data Collection; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D019992:Databases as Topic / Q000592:standards; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020379:Risk Adjustment / Q000458:organization & administration; D013997:Time Factors; D017749:Total Quality Management; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology