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.

Amazingly, sometimes doctors or physicians assistants in Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Deltona and other Volusia County cities misdiagnose your health condition because they do not recognize classic symptoms of heart attacks. Some symptoms of heart attacks are also symptoms of the flu, such as nausea, coughing, difficulty getting a deep breath and weakness. Many people having a heart attack do not have the classic symptom of severe chest pain. However because heart attacks are so life-threatening doctors’ procedures require that they check your complete condition to rule out the most dangerous conditions. If they do not they may be guilty of medical malpractice and you may be dead.

Doing a good job checking to see if you are having a heart attack includes, among other things, doing a complete clinical, physical examination, an electrocardiogram and blood testing. Blood testing is important because cardiac enzymes in the blood are a key part of diagnosing a heart attack.

Some doctors or other healthcare providers may not be thorough enough when you present with conditions that might also be symptoms of flu. Take responsibility and insist that the healthcare provider explain why they are not checking for a heart attack.

To make things worse, a New York Times article has reported that, “A recent New York state survey, for example, revealed that most cardiologists said that they sometimes did not operate on patients who might benefit from surgery because of their concerns about hurting their rankings on state-mandated physician scorecards.”

For more information about heart attack symptoms see the article in the Mayo Clinic website linked here.