Patient ratings not linked to cancer surgery outcomes

By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – - For hospitals, patient satisfaction ratings don’t necessarily line up with cancer surgery stats, according to a new study. “I don't think the results are necessarily surprising, they just highlight that there is very little publicly reported hospital data to help guide cancer patients in decision making,” said lead author Dr. Jason D. Wright of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. It’s difficult to say if the results would be similar with a different group of patients who were not undergoing surgery for cancer, he said. The researchers used a database of more than 63,000 patients who had solid cancer tumors removed surgically at 448 hospitals in the U.S. The Hospital Compare database collects patient satisfaction ratings, quality of care measures – such as whether patients received guideline-recommended medications - and 30-day surgical outcomes.



via Health News Headlines - Yahoo News http://ift.tt/1yN7q8D