Subscribe to Updates
AHRQ — Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs)
Hospital Inpatient Mortality Indicators for California
The Inpatient Mortality Indicators are a set of measures that provide a perspective on hospital quality of care using patient data routinely reported to OSHPD. They include medical conditions and procedures for which mortality rates vary significantly across institutions. Evidence suggests that high mortality may be associated with deficiencies in the quality of hospital care provided.
To view the Inpatient Mortality Indicators for California hospitals click here:
Hospitals were invited to submit letters commenting on the Inpatient Mortality Indicators. These can be found as links in the pdf and Excel (xls) files above.
These indicators (Inpatient Quality Indicators, Version 3.2) were developed by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and are provided by OSHPD for use by California consumers, healthcare purchasers, and healthcare providers. Eight of the 15 AHRQ Inpatient Mortality Indicators have been produced by OSHPD for public release.
Five indicators relate to in-hospital death after surgery:
- Esophageal Resection
- Pancreatic Resection
- Craniotomy
- Carotid Endarterectomy
- Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA)
Three indicators relate to in-hospital death after treatment for medical conditions:
- Acute Stroke
- Gastrointestinal (GI) Hemorrhage
- Hip Fracture
OSHPD views these indicators as potentially useful starting points for examining hospital quality but does not regard them as definitive measures of quality. When this information is carefully considered, with its limitations, alongside other reliable healthcare provider information, it may also be helpful to patients and purchasers such as insurance providers when making decisions about healthcare choices. Healthcare providers may also benefit from using this information in quality improvement activities.
These indicators were created using patient data submitted electronically by the hospitals. The data were not validated by OSHPD beyond the routine error-checking that occurs during the data submission process. Additional information about the methods for calculating these indicators, along with detailed technical explanations, is provided by AHRQ at their Web site. AHRQ also provides valuable guidance regarding the validity of these indicators and important limitations on their use as quality measures. For additional information about the methods that OSHPD used in calculating the Inpatient Mortality Indicators, see this Technical Note.
Risk Adjustment:
Some hospitals tend to treat higher-risk patients who have a greater chance of dying following a surgical procedure or treatment for a serious medical condition. To assure all California hospitals are assessed fairly, OSHPD uses statistical risk adjustment to account for patient differences.
All mortality indicators presented here have been risk-adjusted using the All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Groups (APR-DRGs), a proprietary tool of the 3M Health Information Systems Corporation. See the AHRQ Web site and the OSHPD Technical Note for more detailed information.