Quality of Care Cited by New HealthGrades Study

Lakewood, CO – Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach has received a five-star rating for clinical performance in total knee replacement surgery, ranking it among the best in the nation in that category, according to a new study released today by HealthGrades, the healthcare quality company. The sixth annual “HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study” analyzes and rates patient outcomes for procedures and diagnoses in the nation’s nearly 5,000 hospitals.   

“Our goal is to provide the community with the best care possible,” said Mitch Feldman, chief executive officer of Delray Medical Center.  “To have an independent study continue to validate our efforts is especially gratifying. This is a credit to the everyday efforts of our physicians, nurses, and staff, and is important information for area residents who seek and deserve the high quality of care.”

In addition to the accolades for performance in knee surgery, Delray Medical Center also received five star ratings for numerous procedures within cardiac services, including coronary bypass surgery, cardiac interventional procedures such as angioplasty and stents, and treatment of heart attack and heart failure.  These ratings rank Delray Medical Center number one among Florida hospitals and top five percent in the nation for overall cardiac services.

HealthGrades developed the study and ratings information to help consumers understand the differences in care from hospital to hospital. The ratings are available free to consumers at www.healthgrades.com.

“Consumers continue to ask for more and better information to help them in their healthcare decision making,” said Dr. Samantha Collier, HealthGrades’ vice president of medical affairs. “Our analysis provides an apples-to-apples comparison of hospital performance by procedure, and it is evident that there is a significant variance between individual hospitals.  For Delray Medical Center to score as well as it did reflects the efforts of everyone in the organization, and should be very comforting to area residents.”

The hospital quality ratings are compiled annually using three years of the most currently available Medicare patient data licensed from the federal government’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services. To create its ratings system, HealthGrades compares the actual and predicted mortality or complication rates for specific procedures and diagnoses. HealthGrades then assigns a one-, three- or five-star rating for performance level. The data is risk-adjusted to ensure that hospitals are compared equitably, regardless of the severity of their patient populations. A five-star rating indicates performance better than expected and among the best in the nation. The study’s methodology is available on HealthGrades’ website.

About HealthGrades
Health Grades, Inc. (OTCBB: HGRD) is a healthcare-quality ratings, information and advisory services company. Clients include health care providers, employers, health plans, insurance companies and consumers. HealthGrades works with healthcare providers to help assess, improve and promote their quality.  HealthGrades provides consumers access to information about health care providers and practitioners through its Web site and provides liability insurers, employers and payers with critical information about health care quality.

HEALTHGRADES
Frequently Asked Questions

1) Who is HealthGrades?
HealthGrades is a health care information and advisory services company serving both consumers and the health care industry. Our mission is to support informed healthcare decisions and advance the quality of health care in the United States.  HealthGrades analyzes governmental and private data to provide the public with comprehensive, objective quality ratings for nearly every hospital in the country.

2) What hospitals are included in HealthGrades’ Hospital Quality Ratings?
HealthGrades objectively rates every hospital in the United States treating Medicare patients through provision of services in the following areas: cardiac surgery, cardiology, orthopedic surgery, neurosciences, pulmonary/respiratory care, vascular surgery, and obstetrics.  (Obstetrics and Women’s Health Services information is available for 18 states only due to the public availability of data). 

3) What data is used to determine the ratings?
Raw data used to produce HealthGrades “Hospital Report Cards” comes from two sources:  (1) Medicare (MEDPAR) files, licensed from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and (2) state all payer files made public by states.  The MEDPAR data includes 100% of hospitals participating in the Medicare program.

4) How are the star ratings derived?
Data on the Web site represent three years of the most current information available from CMS.  This includes 2000 – 2002 government fiscal years (October through September).  All hospital quality information is risk adjusted to provide a fair comparison between hospitals. Statistically significant differences between actual and expected performance are used to assign “star ratings” which reflect a grade of poor, as expected, or best.  Expected outcomes are derived through use of a proprietary risk adjustment model developed in collaboration with established industry experts.  The methodology white paper, available on www.healthgrades.com, provides additional detail. 

5) How often are the ratings updated?
HealthGrades’ hospital ratings are updated annually.  The latest ratings are scheduled for release on Sept. 22, 2003.

6) Who sees and uses this ratings information?
Both industry and consumers currently use our ratings.  Employers, health plans, benefits managers, insurance companies and other industry experts rely on HealthGrades’ ratings and information to measure, compare and select healthcare providers.  More than 3 million consumers annually access www.healthgrades.com while an additional 3.5 million individuals are offered HealthGrades information directly through their employers.

7) How does HealthGrades account for differences in patient severity within hospitals nationwide?
HealthGrades proprietary risk-adjustment methodology accounts for pre-existing conditions, procedural risk, and demographics that can influence patient outcomes.  By analyzing the patient population of each provider and applying the same model across all providers nationwide, HealthGrades can provide an “apples to apples” comparison of performance.  HealthGrades risk-adjustment models were developed with extensive research and are well accepted within the industry.

8) How do HealthGrades’ ratings differ from other hospital ratings?
HealthGrades is the only consumer-oriented, national rating system strictly focused on clinical quality outcomes that rates nearly every hospital in the country.  By contrast, other hospital ratings organizations mix operational, financial, or opinion survey results criteria into their methodology.  HealthGrades is also the only company to maintain a free, consumer friendly Website with ratings for hospitals nationwide.  HealthGrades ratings are based on objective criteria and utilize three years of the most current data available.