Statewide report pinpoints hospitals that provide the best care

SALT LAKE CITY — With multiple hospitals in the Salt Lake Valley, it is sometimes difficult to know where to go for care.

Utah Department of Health officials are hoping that a new report will help patients and their families know how hospitals are performing statewide.

In addition to measures of in-hospital deaths, the Utah Hospital Comparison Report, available online at www.health.utah.gov/myhealthcare, provides lists of average costs and patient safety ratings. The report also shows maps of countywide rates for avoidable hospitalizations, readmission rates, hospitals' adherence to guidelines for recommended care and patient satisfaction.

"It is the first time that the information has been released in this way," said Carol Masheter, a UDOH epidemiologist.

The report shows that Utah hospitals are doing better, overall, than the rest of the nation, in measures including prevention of injuries to newborns, women giving birth, and in-hospital deaths among patients with heart-failure, pneumonia and stroke. However, there are differences among hospitals.

McKay-Dee Hospital Center, an Intermountain Healthcare facility in Ogden, is reported to have the highest ratings in the state for childbirths without injury and other healthy deliveries, while MountainStar's St. Mark's Hospital was ranked best in the state for its cardiology clinic. Also according to the report, the state's best care for stroke patients can be found at the University Hospital.

In its first year of use, however, the layout and design of the online report may give users some trouble, as data and details in the report can be difficult to decipher.

"It is supposed to be user-friendly, but it is built by people who use this kind of data all the time," Masheter said.

While it is helpful to the general public, the report is mostly aimed at hospital administrators and statewide policymakers, who can use the information to provide better care and make informed decisions regarding health care.

"We support transparency of health care performance measures that are well-designed and validated," said Audrey Glasby, spokeswoman for Utah's MountainStar Heathcare network of hospitals. With accurate information, she said, "people can make better decisions about their health care."