How they scored
Penalties for hospital-acquired conditions: Medicare is penalizing hospitals with high rates of potentially avoidable mistakes that can harm patients, known as “hospital-acquired conditions.” To determine penalties, Medicare ranked hospitals on a score of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, in three categories: 1. Central-line-associated bloodstream infections, or CLABSIs. 2. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections, or CAUTIs. 3. Serious complications, which is based on eight types of injuries, including blood clots and falls. Hospitals with a score above 7 will be penalized. CHI Memorial Health Care System — No Penalty Serious complications score — 1 CLABSI score — 10 CAUTI score — 9 Total score — 6.525 Erlanger Health System — Penalty Serious complications score — 10 CLABSI score — 8 CAUTI score — 10 Total score — 9.35 Hutcheson Medical Center — Penalty Serious complications score — 10 CLABSI score — 1 CAUTI score — 10 Total score — 7.075 Parkridge Health System — No Penalty Serious complications score — 4 CLABSI score — 7 CAUTI score — 9 Total score — 6.6 Source: Kaiser Health News
Infections and injuries sustained at hospitals have hurt millions of patients. Now those injuries are hurting hospitals’ bottom lines.
Last week, the federal government announced it will cut payments to 721 hospitals for having high rates of infections and other patient injuries in 2013.
Erlanger Health System and Hutcheson Medical Center, the area’s two public hospitals, both made the list.
An analysis released by Kaiser Health News called the move “the toughest crackdown yet on medical errors.” The report shows one out of every seven hospitals in the nation will have its Medicare payments lowered by 1 percent over the next year — a total of $373 million, Medicare estimates. Erlanger and Hutcheson will be in the company of some of the country’s most renowned hospitals, such as the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.