Recently the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its comparison of readmission rates for patients suffering from pneumonia, congestive heart failure, or a myocardial infarction (heart attack). Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth was deemed “better than the national rate” for re-admissions for patients with Heart Failure.You can review any hospital’s results across a number of clinical indicators at http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/. This same website also will show the results of patient surveys that consider the environment of the hospital as well as how the needs of the patients are met. The clinical indicators and the comfort indicators, when taken together, allow someone who is not familiar with hospital settings to compare hospitals and hopefully result in informed decisions concerning future hospital choices.
The readmission rates for Heart Failure are based on many variables that begin with the initial management of the patient in the Emergency Department, and do not end until the patient is discharged to a stable environment with an appropriate plan that covers, among other things: diet, exercise, medications, physician followup, and general information about congestive heart failure. It takes a complete team of health care workers, from the physician to the dietitian to ensure that once a patient is well enough to go home, they don’t suffer a relapse and find themselves back in our hospital.
Hats off to the medical and hospital staff of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth! Great job!
- Joe Prosser, M.D. , Chief Quality Officer
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