(Oklahoma City) March 2007 – Care for heart and pneumonia patients treated in Oklahoma hospitals improved consistently over a four and ½ year period, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, Oklahoma’s Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) under contract with CMS, reports that Oklahoma hospitals have shown measurable improvement in the ways they treat heart and pneumonia patients. The data also show that Oklahoma is doing as well as or, in many cases, better than national comparisons for all reported measures.

“Oklahomans should know that the quality of care in our hospitals is good and getting better,” said D. Kent Towsley, M.D. principal clinical coordinator for OFMQ. “Our hospitals are to be commended for their hard work and dedication to implementing new processes that result in better patient outcomes.”

Hospitals report their performance on nineteen quality measures for treatment related to heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia, three common and costly conditions and three of CMS’ national priority areas for improvement. Quality measures are recommended treatments shown through research to provide the best results for most adults with these conditions. Quality measures indicate how well a healthcare provider is doing in providing appropriate care.

For example, evidence has shown that if a patient with a heart attack receives a type of drug called a beta blocker, the patient is more likely to have a better outcome. Oklahoma hospitals increased the use of beta blockers for heart attack patients 28 percent from 2002-2006. Similarly, a patient admitted to the hospital with pneumonia should get an antibiotic within four hours of arrival as well as a vaccine shot for pneumonia. The appropriate use of the pneumonia vaccine has doubled in the same time period. In the treatment of chronic heart failure, assessing the function of the left chamber of the heart is recommended. This measure increased 38 percent from 2002-2006.

“These numbers indicate significant progress in implementing quality improvement processes, which are essential to providing better care, said Craig W. Jones, President of the Oklahoma Hospital Association. “We join OFMQ in recognizing the commitment to quality demonstrated by Oklahoma’s hospitals.”

As part of the national QIO program, OFMQ partners with volunteer hospitals in urban and rural Oklahoma to develop system-wide improvement strategies, implement health information technologies and address specific clinical topics to improve health outcomes. OFMQ also assists hospitals with measuring and reporting performance. QIOs in every state bring expertise to healthcare providers to help improve quality of care for every patient, every time. The QIO program contributes to overall healthcare system improvement along with the efforts of providers and many other stakeholders interested in better health care.

This chart shows Oklahoma’s performance in the quality measures and the most recent national rates for the same measures.

For more information, visit http://www.ofmq.com/hospital-public-reporting and http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HospitalQualityInits/.

1 Angiotensin Converting Enzyme, 2 Percutaneous Coronary Interventions, 3 Left Ventricular Function
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sampling of patient data; numerator is the number of patients who received recommended treatment; denominator is number of patients admitted to Oklahoma hospitals with the named condition who were eligible for the treatment.

The analyses upon which this publication is based were performed under Contract Number 500-02-Ok-03, funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The author assumes full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the ideas presented.500-02-Ok-03 1C-054-MEASURESPR-OK-0307