Wide variations in cost, quality found among "best" hospitals in caring for patients with chronic illness.
Hospital practice variations-not variations related to chronic illnesses, patient preferences, or the strictures of evidence-based medicine--determine how much care is given and how much money is spent on patient treatment, according to a series of 20 articles published last month in the online version of Health Affairs.
D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D006302:Health Services Research; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006760:Hospitalization; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States