100 patient safety benchmarks | 2017 6/19/17, 5:49 PM

100 patient safety benchmarks | 2017

Written by Brian Zimmerman and Anuja Vaidya | June 15, 2017 | Print | Email

Benchmarking data is valuable for hospital and health system leaders to measure individual institutions
and discover areas of excellence as well as assess opportunities for improvement.

Becker's Healthcare compiled 100 patient safety benchmarks from various sources for hospital
comparison.

Readmissions, Mortality and Complications

Entries one through 11 are based on data from CMS' Hospital Compare website, last updated April 28,
2017. Data presented reflect the national average.

30-day average readmission rates

1. Heart attack: 16.8 percent
2. Heart failure: 21.9 percent
3. Pneumonia: 17.1 percent

30-day average death rates

4. Heart attack: 14.1 percent
5. Heart failure: 12.1 percent
6. Pneumonia: 16.3 percent

Rates of serious complications

Figures reflect the national average rates per 1,000 patient discharges.

7. Collapsed lung due to medical treatment: 0.41

8. Serious blood clots after surgery: 5.31
9. A wound that splits open after surgery, abdomen or pelvis: 2.32
10. Accidental cuts and tears from medical treatment: 1.43
11. Deaths among patients with serious treatable complications after surgery: 136.48

Respondents reporting events in the past 12 months

Entries 12 through 17 are based on data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Hospital
Survey on Patient Safety Culture 2016 User Comparative Database Report, using data from 447,584
surveyed hospital staff respondents from 680 hospitals. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to
rounding.

12. No reported events: 55 percent

13. One to two reported events: 27 percent
14. Three to five reported events: 12 percent
15. Six to 10 reported events: 4 percent
16. Eleven to 20 reported events: 2 percent
17. Twenty-one or more reported events: 1 percent

Venous thromboembolism care

Entries 18 through 22 are VTE care measure results based on 2015 data from Americas Hospitals:
Improving Quality and Safety The Joint Commissions Annual Report 2016. Results are determined by

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the number of times the hospital met the measure divided by the number of opportunities the hospital had
during the year. Results are expressed as a percentage.

18. VTE medicine/treatment: 95.2 percent

19. VTE medicine/treatment in ICU: 97.2 percent
20. VTE patients with overlap therapy: 94 percent
21. VTE warfarin discharge instructions: 92.6 percent
22. Incidence of potentially preventable VTE: 1.8 percent

Healthcare-Associated Infections
Entries 23 through 36 are based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HAI Progress Report
that includes 2014 data, published in 2016. The report uses data from the CDCs National Healthcare
Safety Network. Around 17,000 hospitals and healthcare facilities report data to NHSN.

National standardized infection ratio (a summary statistic that can be used to track HAI prevention
progress over time)

23. CLABSI: 0.50

24. CAUTI: 1.00
25. MRSA bacteremia: 0.87
26. C. difficile infections: 0.92

National standardized infection ratios for surgical site infection

27. Hip arthroplasty: 0.78

28. Knee arthroplasty: 0.59
29. Colon surgery: 0.98
30. Rectal surgery: 0.60
31. Abdominal hysterectomy: 0.83
32. Vaginal hysterectomy: 0.86
33. Coronary artery bypass graft: 0.55
34. Other cardiac surgery: 0.42
35. Peripheral vascular bypass surgery: 0.70
36. Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: 0.28

Sentinel events
Entries 37 through 45 are based on the Joint Commission's sentinel event data summary published in
March 2017, representing the number of sentinel events The Joint Commission reviewed for each category
in 2016.

Sentinel events reviewed by The Joint Commission:

37. Unintended retention of a foreign body: 120

38. Wrong-patient, wrong-site, wrong-procedures: 104
39. Falls: 92
40. Suicides: 87
41. Delay in treatment: 54
42. Other unanticipated events (including asphyxiation, burn, choked on food, drowned or found
unresponsive): 47
43. Operative/postoperative complications: 45
44. Medication error: 33

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45. Criminal event: 32

Process of Care Measures

Entries 46 through 66 are based on data from CMS' Hospital Compare website, last updated April 28,
2017. Data presented reflect the national average.

Heart attack/chest pain patient data

46. Average (median) number of minutes before outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack were
transferred to another hospital if he or she needed specialized care: 59 minutes

47. Average (median) number of minutes before outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack got an
electrocardiogram: 7 minutes

48. Percent of outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack who received fibrinolytic medication
within 30 minutes of arrival: 59 percent

49. Average (median) time to fibrinolysis for heart attack or chest pain patients: 28 minutes

50. Percentage of outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack who got aspirin within 24 hours of
arrival: 96 percent

Preventative care

51. Percentage of patients assessed and given influenza vaccination: 94 percent

52. Percentage of healthcare workers given influenza vaccination: 86 percent

Colonoscopy care

53. Percentage of patients receiving appropriate recommendation for follow-up screening colonoscopy: 80
percent

54. Percentage of patients with history of polyps receiving follow-up colonoscopy in the appropriate
timeframe: 87 percent

Emergency department

55. Average (median) time spent in the emergency department before being admitted as an inpatient: 279
minutes

56. Average (median) time spent in the emergency department after physician decided to admit them as an
inpatient before moving from emergency department to inpatient room: 99 minutes

57. Average time spent in the emergency department before leaving from the visit: 140 minutes

58. Average (median) time spent in the emergency department before being seen by a healthcare
professional: 21 minutes

59. Average (median) time spent waiting with broken bones before receiving pain medication: 52 minutes

60. Percentage of patients who left the emergency department before being seen: 2 percent

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61. Percentage of patients who came to the emergency room with stroke symptoms and received brain
scan results within 45 minutes of arrival: 70 percent

Blood clot prevention and treatment

62. Patients with blood clots who were discharged on a blood thinner medication and received written
instructions about that medicine: 93 percent

63. Patients who developed a blood clot while in the hospital who did not get treatment that could have
prevented it: 2 percent

64. Ischemic stroke patients who got medicine to break up a blood clot within three hours after symptoms
started: 87 percent

Cataract surgery
65. Percentage of patients who had cataract surgery and had improvement in visual function within 90
days following surgery: 87 percent

Pregnancy care
66. Percentage of mothers whose deliveries were scheduled too early (one to two weeks early) when a
scheduled delivery was not medically necessary: 2 percent

Patient Experience
Entries 67 through 77 are based on data from CMS' Hospital Compare website, last updated April 28,
2017. Data presented reflect the national average.

Percentage of patients reporting that something was "always" done during their hospital stays:

67. Nurses communicated well: 80 percent

68. Physicians communicated well: 82 percent
69. Patients received help as soon as they wanted: 69 percent
70. Pain was well controlled: 71 percent
71. Staff explained medicines before administration: 65 percent
72. Room and bathroom were clean: 74 percent.
73. Area around patient room was quiet at night: 63 percent
74. Information was given to patients about what to do at home during recovery: 87 percent

Percentage of patients reporting high satisfaction, care understanding and likelihood to recommend:

75. Patients rated their hospital a 9 or 10 (10 being the highest): 72 percent
76. Patients reported they would definitely recommend their hospital: 72 percent
77. Patients reported they would probably recommend their hospital: 23 percent
78. Patients "strongly agree" that they understood their care when they left the hospital: 52 percent

Patient Volumes & Hospital Beds

Entries 79 through 83 are from the Kaiser Family Foundation's 2014 State Health Facts, the most recent
data available. Data presented represent the average annual patient volume per 1,000 population.

79. Number of hospital admissions: 104

80. Number of hospital inpatient days: 566
81. Hospital emergency room visits: 428
82. Hospital outpatient visits: 2,174

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83. Hospital beds: 2.5

Patient Safety Culture

Entries 84 through 100 are based on data from AHRQ's Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture 2016
User Comparative Database Report, using data from 447,584 surveyed hospital staff respondents from
680 hospitals.

84. Percentage of hospital staff reporting teamwork within units:

10th percentile: 75 percent

25th percentile: 79 percent
Median: 82 percent
75th percentile: 85 percent
90th percentile: 88 percent
Average: 82 percent

85. Percentage of hospital staff reporting supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting patient
safety:

10th percentile: 71 percent

25th percentile: 75 percent
Median: 79 percent
75th percentile: 83 percent
90th percentile: 86 percent
Average: 78 percent

86. Percentage of hospital staff reporting organizational learning and continuous improvement from
mistakes:

10th percentile: 63 percent

25th percentile: 68 percent
Median: 73 percent
75th percentile: 77 percent
90th percentile: 81 percent
Average: 73 percent

87. Percentage of hospital staff reporting management support for patient safety:

10th percentile: 60 percent

25th percentile: 67 percent
Median: 73 percent
75th percentile: 79 percent
90th percentile: 83 percent
Average: 72 percent

88. Percentage of hospital staff reporting overall perceptions of patient safety:

10th percentile: 55 percent

25th percentile: 60 percent
Median: 66 percent
75th percentile: 72 percent
90th percentile: 77 percent

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Average: 66 percent

89. Percentage of hospital staff reporting feedback and communications about errors:

10th percentile: 58 percent

25th percentile: 63 percent
Median: 68 percent
75th percentile: 74 percent
90th percentile: 78 percent
Average: 68 percent

90. Percentage of hospital staff reporting frequency of events that had potential to cause harm but did not
cause harm and were reported:

10th percentile: 57 percent

25th percentile: 61 percent
Median: 67 percent
75th percentile: 71 percent
90th percentile: 76 percent
Average: 67 percent

91. Percentage of hospital staff reporting communication and openness:

10th percentile: 55 percent

25th percentile: 59 percent
Median: 64 percent
75th percentile: 68 percent
90th percentile: 72 percent
Average: 64 percent

92. Percentage of hospital staff reporting teamwork across units:

10th percentile: 50 percent

25th percentile: 56 percent
Median: 61 percent
75th percentile: 67 percent
90th percentile: 73 percent
Average: 61 percent

93. Percentage of hospital staff reporting adequate unit staffing to provide quality care:

10th percentile: 42 percent

25th percentile: 48 percent
Median: 53 percent
75th percentile: 60 percent
90th percentile: 66 percent
Average: 54 percent

94. Percentage of hospital staff reporting smooth informational handoffs & care transitions:

10th percentile: 35 percent

25th percentile: 41 percent

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Median: 46 percent
75th percentile: 54 percent
90th percentile: 62 percent
Average: 48 percent

95. Percentage of hospital staff reporting nonpunitive response to error:

10th percentile: 35 percent

25th percentile: 39 percent
Median: 44 percent
75th percentile: 51 percent
90th percentile: 56 percent
Average: 45 percent

Percentage of respondents giving their work area a patient safety grade:

96. Excellent: 34 percent

97. Very good: 42 percent
98. Acceptable: 19 percent
99. Poor: 4 percent
100. Failing: 1 percent

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