Report: Medical care varies widely at Seattle-area clinics and hospitals

Seattle Times, November 14, 2008

A new report shows the quality of medical care varies widely at clinics and hospitals across the Puget Sound region in Washington State, with many patients failing to get basic treatment recommended by national guidelines. Nearly half of clinics surveyed were below average at ensuring patients with diabetes got regular eye exams to detect vision problems caused by the disease. The percentage of heart-surgery patients who received standard treatment to prevent blood clots ranged from 59% to 96% at hospitals. The findings were released in the Community Checkup report released by the Puget Sound Health Alliance.