Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Center for International Security and Cooperation Stanford University


Publications




Relationship between patient safety and hospital surgical volume

Journal Article

Authors
Hernandez-Boussard, T.
Downey, J.R.
Kathryn M. McDonald - Stanford University
Morton, J.M.

Published by
Health Services Research, Vol. 47 no. 2, page(s) 756-769
2012


Objective To examine the relationship between hospital volume and in-hospital adverse events. Data Sources Patient safety indicator (PSI) was used to identify hospital-acquired adverse events in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database in abdominal aortic aneurysm, coronary artery bypass graft, and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass from 2005 to 2008. Study Design In this observational study, volume thresholds were defined by mean year-specific terciles. PSI risk-adjusted rates were analyzed by volume tercile for each procedure. Principal Findings Overall, hospital volume was inversely related to preventable adverse events. High-volume hospitals had significantly lower risk-adjusted PSI rates compared to lower volume hospitals (p <.05). Conclusion These data support the relationship between hospital volume and quality health care delivery in select surgical cases. This study highlights differences between hospital volume and risk-adjusted PSI rates for three common surgical procedures and highlights areas of focus for future studies to identify pathways to reduce hospital-acquired events. © Health Research and Educational Trust.