Joint Commission: Quality of Patient Care Improved in 2009

For example:

• The overall results of heart attack care have seen great improvement from 2002, rising from 86.9% in the 2002 report to 96.7% in 2008.


• Overall heart failure care has improved since 2002, from 59.7% to 91.6% in 2008.


• Pneumonia care results have also improved significantly, rising from 72.3% to 92.9%.

However, The Joint Commission reported that some areas finished with low rates of performance—specifically the percent of hospitals providing fibrinolytic therapy within 30 minutes of arrival, and providing antibiotics to intensive care pneumonia patients within 24 hours of arrival.

Additional results can be found online at www.qualitycheck.org, and a complete copy of the report can be downloaded at www.jointcommission.org.