Statement on OSHPD Report

“The state of California’s OSHPD agency released a California Hospital Risk-Adjusted Mortality Rate indicators report, which shows how Washington Hospital performed in a number of categories in previous years. The report utilizes old data that is a snapshot in time in 2010 and 2011, which captures adverse patient outcomes that every hospital unfortunately experiences from time to time. While the report shows that mortality rates in the covered categories are worse in some hospitals compared to others, the data is also not presented alongside the breath of other important indicators that provide a more complete picture about care at hospitals. The OSHPD report provides a starting point to assessing care, but as stated by OSHPD, the data should not be regarded “as definitive measures of quality”. A more meaningful assessment of quality data would consist of data over a larger period of time. The bottom line is that the OSHPD report alone does not accurately reflect the high level of performance or the excellent care provided at Washington Hospital. A more accurate reflection of performance at Washington Hospital is available in the more current, comprehensive and nationally reported core measure indicators.

Core measures indicators, which are evidence based indicators that are used to measure the quality of patient care according to evidence based research, are reported to the Joint Commission and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Washington Hospital’s core measure results show overall strong performance that puts us above state and national benchmarks in most categories; with Heart Failure performance measures for period ending March 2013 as follows:

In the area of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), our core measure performance for period ending March 2013 is as follows:

In the area of pneumonia, our core measure performance for period ending March 2013 is as follows:

• Discharge Instructions Given to Patient: WHHS average 100%, state benchmark 94%, and national benchmark of 93%
• Heart Failure Patients Given an Evaluation of Left Ventricular Systolic (LVS) Function: WHHS average 100%, state benchmark 99% and national benchmark of 99%
• Use of ACEIs Medication for Heart Attack Patients with Less than 40% (ACE-I/ARB for LVSD): WHHS average of 100%, state benchmark 97% and national benchmark 96%.
• Aspirin given at discharge: WHHS average of 100%, state benchmark 99%, national benchmark 99%
• Primary PCI within 90 minutes of arrival at the hospital: WHHS average of 100%, state benchmark 95%, national benchmark 95%
• Statin Medication Prescribed at Discharge: WHHS average of 100%, state benchmark 98%, national benchmark 98%
• Blood Culture in ED Prior to First Antibiotic: WHHS average of 93%, state benchmark 97%, national benchmark 97%
• Appropriate Initial Antibiotic Selection: WHHS average of 97%, state benchmark 96%, national benchmark 95%

Current core measure data for Washington Hospital is presented monthly at our public board meetings and is available on the hospital website (www.whhs.com). Additionally, core measure data is also publicly available on the Hospital Compare website (www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare). As a mission-driven community hospital, we are confident that we are constantly working to identify opportunities to improve care, safety and patient outcomes.”