“Roach motels” – are you more likely to die in your hospital than others? June 1, 2009

There used to be a frequent television commercial for a roach-exterminating product called “roach motel.” The product’s slogan was something to the effect of, “Roaches go in, but they don’t come out.” Obviously this would not be a good slogan for hospitals, “Patients come in, but they don’t go out.”

Florida state government now has a website available where you can compare mortality rates at hospitals to determine whether the hospital you are considering has a mortality rate that is, “higher than expected,” “lower than expected,” or “as expected.” You can determine mortality rates for specific types of conditions such as heart attacks, hip replacements, strokes, coronary artery bypass, craniotomy, gastrointestinal hemorrhage and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

The ratings take into account the acuity of the hospital’s patients. This makes it more likely that comparisons from one hospital to the other are valid. For instance, some hospitals might take care of more severely sick patients. Thus you would expect a higher mortality rate than in hospitals taking care of less acute patients. The state ratings take this into account.

As of the date of this writing for example, Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach was listed as having a mortality rate “higher than expected” for patients with pneumonia. Other hospitals in Volusia County all had mortality rates “as expected.” We cannot be certain that this higher mortality rate was a result of medical malpractice. The fact, however, that the mortality rate is higher than expected is something that should be taken into consideration when thinking about whether you want to be treated at Halifax.

For more information go to Florida Health Finder and the medical malpractice section of the Zimmet & Quarles website, zqlawyers.com.