Report Highlights Hospital Quality Improvement Gains

Unplanned hospital readmissions fell by 70,000 for Medicare Part C patients between 2011 and 2015, avoiding more than $1 billion in health care costs, according to the latest report on the impact of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quality measures on patients and costs. Among other hospital improvements, catheter-associated urinary tract infection rates fell by 46% between 2013-2015; deaths within 30 days of hospitalization for a heart attack fell by 13,000 between 2008 and 2015; and the share of patients giving their hospital a highly favorable rating on the hospital experience of care system increased by more than 8 percentage points between 2008 and 2015, or nearly 9 million people. The report, required by law every three years, estimates the patient and cost impact for 17 key quality indicators.