In small-volume hospitals, patients face greater risks because the surgeons perform too few procedures, even common operations such as joint replacements, according to a report from U.S. News & World Report.
Here are five things to know from the report:
1. The analysis, conducted with an analytics firm based in London named Dr. Foster, was conducted as part of a new hospital ratings system named Best Hospitals for Common Care
2. At a sample 331-bed hospital in Florida, the risk of dying after a hip replacement surgery was nine times the national average.
3. Knee-replacement patients at low-volume hospitals had double the national average death risk, and those who had their knee replacement in the lowest-volume centers were nearly 70 percent more likely to die than patients treated at centers in the top quintile of volume.
4. Most patients feel better about receiving more "local" care, with one-fifth of patients choosing to have surgery at a local hospital with a death rate of 18 percent rather than drive to a regional hospital with a 3 percent death rate, according to a study from the University of Utah as referenced in U.S. News & World Report.
5. The study also notes there is a strong relationship between higher volume and better patient outcomes, but it not absolute.
"I don't think thresholds or minimum requirements will change things for the better. It will reduce supply and indiscriminately remove both good and bad performers. That's not a prescription for improvement." Mark Chassin, MD, FACP, MPP, MPH, CEO of the Joint Commission, said to U.S. News & World Report.
More articles on quality issues:
Method to prevent pediatric medical errors: 4 things to know
Who actually knows what a malpractice settlement consists of? 5 things to know
IOM: 15 core areas physicians can focus on to provide true quality
