Hoag praised for record of patient safety

FOR THE RECORD

A story Wednesday, “Hoag praised for record of patient safety,” should have placed Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in the top 5% of hospitals. If all hospitals were able to have safety ratings like Hoag and other top-performing hospitals, about $1.74 billion could have been saved from 2003 to 2005, according to HealthGrades, a healthcare ratings company.

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has been given the Distinguished Hospital Award for patient safety by an independent healthcare ratings company, putting the Newport Beach hospital in the top 15% of hospitals surveyed.

HealthGrades surveyed 5,000 hospitals across the country, using 13 criteria to evaluate each facility to determine the level of safety at the hospitals. Hoag was one of 242 hospitals to be given the distinction.

According to HealthGrades, if all hospitals were able to have safety ratings like Hoag and other top-performing hospitals, about $1.74 million could have been saved from 2003 to 2005 in the country. The company also determined that about 206,000 patient-safety incidents and more than 34,000 Medicare deaths could have been avoided, according to the report.

“The bottom line really is that [safety] is ingrained in our culture and everything we do,” Hoag’s chief quality officer, Dr. Jack Cox, said Tuesday. “We always ask the question, ‘Is this safe for our patients?’ ”

Despite being named one of the country’s safest hospitals, Cox said patient safety is constantly being examined.

“When I read this report, I look at areas we can improve on — for me it’s never good enough,” Cox said. “As long as we have one patient that comes to Hoag that has harm done that could’ve been prevented, then it’s not good enough.”

That includes areas where the hospital excelled — out of every 1,000 people, four got infections after their stay, he said.

“I’d like to see that as zero. Obviously some of these are currently unrealistic, but you have to aim high,” Cox said. “All of these should be zero…. Even if you’re considered the top of the very top in a particular area, there’s always room for improvement.”