Quality of Care
Phelps Exceeds Peer Hospitals in Quality Measures
New York State Department of Health
Reports on Potentially Preventable Complications
The nationwide emphasis on patient safety has generated efforts to examine complications that occur in hospitalized patients. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) collaborated with 3M Health Information Systems (3M HIS) to measure potentially preventable complications (PPCs). PPCs are diagnoses that were NOT present on admission that presumably could be prevented, and therefore are a relative measure of safety and quality.
The State's Methodology: The 3M system identifies: (1) whether a secondary diagnosis that arises after admission should be considered a complication rather than a consequence of the natural course of the underlying illness, and (2) whether the complication is potentially preventable, given the patient's conditions present at the time of admission.
Compared to its peer group of hospitals, Phelps Memorial Hospital Center had significantly lower rates of PPCs in 2002 and 2003.
PPC at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center 2002
Phelps Memorial Hospital Center |
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| Category | Discharges | Discharges with One or More Major PPCs | Major PPC Rate/1,000 | % DIfference | Significance Level | |||
| Total | At Risk for PPC | Actual | Expected | Observed | Expected | |||
| Total | 8,686 | 7,219 | 163 | 204 | 22.58 | 28.28 | - 20.20 | * * * |
| Medical | 6,336 | 4,967 | 91 | 124 | 18.32 | 24.96 | - 26.60 | * * * |
| Surgical | 1,493 | 1,395 | 68 | 76 | 48.75 | 54.48 | - 10.50 | |
| Obstetrical | 857 | 857 | 4 | 5 | 4.67 | 5.26 | - 11.20 | |
* * * Statistically significant (p<0.05) lower rate of PPCs
Note:
- Expected PPC rates computed using combined SPARCs 2002 and 2003 data (excluding specialty hospitals).
- Only patients "at risk" for the PPC were included in the PPC analysis (e.g., all multiple trauma patients were excluded).
PPC at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center 2003
Phelps Memorial Hospital Center |
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| Category | Discharges | Discharges with One or More Major PPCs | Major PPC Rate/1,000 | % DIfference | Significance Level | |||
| Total | At Risk for PPC | Actual | Expected | Observed | Expected | |||
| Total | 8,736 | 7,114 | 158 | 204 | 22.21 | 26.71 | - 22.60 | * * * |
| Medical | 6,276 | 4,768 | 92 | 120 | 19.30 | 25.17 | - 23.30 | * * * |
| Surgical | 1,469 | 1,355 | 62 | 79 | 45.76 | 58.30 | - 21.50 | * * * |
| Obstetrical | 991 | 991 | 4 | 6 | 4.04 | 5.64 | - 28.40 | |
* * * Statistically significant (p<0.05) lower rate of PPCs
Note:
- Expected PPC rates computed using combined SPARCs 2002 and 2003 data (excluding specialty hospitals).
- Only patients "at risk" for the PPC were included in the PPC analysis (e.g., all multiple trauma patients were excluded).
To eliminate the impact of case-mix and severity of illness, data are standardized using 3M ™ All-Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Groups (APR-DRGs), a patient classification system developed by 3M Health Information Systems. The source of the data is discharge coding of each case, which all hospitals must submit to the New York State Department of Health.