Hospitals

Studies have confirmed the common-sense notion that practice makes perfect, and the medical profession has known for at least 30 years that how well people fare after surgery often depends on where it was performed. For a given operation, outcomes are generally best at “high volume” hospitals, which perform it often. The difference between high- and low-volume centers is not just the surgeon’s skill, but also the level of expertise in other areas that are crucial after surgery, like nursing, intensive care, respiratory therapy and rehabilitation, Dr. Koniaris said. The same principles apply to treating cancer.

. . .

(For people who want to find out how a specific hospital performs in treating certain illnesses and performing operations, the government Web site www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov provides information. In addition, some states require that hospitals publish their infection rates; that information is at www.hospitalinfection.org.)

New York Times, 1/6/09

[Write your own transition paragraph.]

I looked at HospitalCompare's data for heart bypass surgery at GW, Fairfax, and Fair Oaks hospitals. GW wins in almost every medical category. For example:

• Percent of surgery patients who were given the right kind of antibiotic to help prevent infection: GW,96% -- Fair Oaks,76% -- Fairfax,93%
• Percent of surgery patients whose preventive antibiotics were stopped at the right time: GW,91% -- Fair Oaks,71% -- Fairfax, 89%

And yet, and yet, . . .

• Percent of patients who reported YES, they would definitely recommend the hospital: GW, 61% -- Fair Oaks, 78% -- Fairfax, 72%

(How in the world is it possible that one out of four bypass patients at Fair Oaks is not given the right antibiotic to prevent infection?)

And no, I'm not having any health issues at all at this time, but thanks for caring.