Alabama hospitals rate high on heart attack patient care

Similar data comparing hospitals' reactions to heart patient cases has been compiled by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and is now available on their Web site launched recently.

The Web site compares hospital performance data within 30 days of hospitalization and looks at the rate at which heart attack patients are given aspirin upon arrival and discharge, the percent of heart failure in patients whose hearts are tested to determine if it is pumping properly and the percent of patients provided information to help manage heart failure symptoms.

Baptist Princeton, Shelby Baptist, Cooper Green Mercy Hospital, Medical Center East, UAB Medical Center West, Physicians Carraway Medical Center, St. Vincent's Hospital, Brookwood Medical Center, Trinity Medical Center and UAB all reported scores higher than the 87 percent state average for providing aspirin to heart attack patients upon arrival and discharge.

Each hospital recorded better scores on heart evaluation than the 83 percent national average. Local hospitals did not fare as well in providing discharge instructions for managing symptoms. The national average is 61 percent, but Baptist Shelby reported a 32 percent rate while UAB Medical Center West had 55 percent and UAB was 41 percent.

In 2008, Medicare will add patient satisfaction information to its Web site. Twenty-one measures are currently available on the site for consumers to view, including eight measures related to heart attack care, four related to heart failure care, seven related to pneumonia care and two related to surgical infection prevention.
source:www.bizjournals.com