Abstract
Background: Recent efforts to improve care for patients hospitalized with heart failure have focused on process-based performance measures. Data supporting the link between current process measures and patient outcomes are sparse. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between adherence to hospital-level process measures and long-term patient-level mortality and readmission. Research desing: Analysis of data from a national clinical registry linked to outcome data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Subjects: A total of 22,750 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries enrolled in the Organized Program to Initiate Lifesaving Treatment in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure between March 2003 and December 2004. Measures: Mortality at 1 year; cardiovascular readmission at 1 year; and adherence to hospital-level process measures, including discharge instructions, assessment of left ventricular function, prescription of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker at discharge, prescription of beta-blockers at discharge, and smoking cessation counseling for eligible patients. Results: Hospital conformity rates ranged from 52% to 86% across the 5 process measures. Unadjusted overall 1-year mortality and cardiovascular readmission rates were 33% and 40%, respectively. In covariate-adjusted analyses, the CMS composite score was not associated with 1-year mortality (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-1.03; P = 0.91) or readmission (hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.99-1.04; P = 0.37). Current CMS process measures were not independently associated with mortality, though prescription of beta-blockers at discharge was independently associated with lower mortality (hazard ratio, 0.94; 95% confidence interval, 0.90-098; P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Hospital process performance for heart failure as judged by current CMS measures is not associated with patient outcomes within 1 year of discharge, calling into question whether existing CMS metrics can accurately discriminate hospital quality of care for heart failure.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 210-216 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Medical Care |
Volume | 48 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Heart failure
- Mortality
- Outcome and process assessment (health care)
- Patient readmission
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health