2 Seattle hospitals make U.S. best list

Two Seattle medical centers made the list of top hospitals for patient safety and clinical excellence, according to a national study of U.S. hospitals.

Northwest Hospital & Medical Center is listed among the top 5 percent of hospitals nationwide for patient safety, according to the study by HealthGrades, an independent health care ratings company. The hospital received the 2007 Distinguished Hospital Award for Patient Safety -- one of seven in the state to receive the award.

Swedish Medical Center, including Ballard Community Hospital, received the 2007 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence.

The fourth annual HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study analyzed 16 patient safety indicators in more than 40 million Medicare patients between 2003 and 2005. The study looked at the country's nearly 5,000 non-federal hospitals.

The 16 patient safety indicators measured included foreign objects left in bodies during procedures, post-operative hip fractures, blood clots and bacterial infections, accidental puncture or laceration and complications of anesthesia.

The study identified 242 hospitals as the standard against which other hospitals will be evaluated.

According to the report, while patient safety incidents nationwide rose 3 percent between 2003 to 2005, the top hospitals listed had a 40 percent lower rate of medical errors when compared with the poorest-performing hospitals.

The study found that if all hospitals performed at the top level, more than 200,000 patient-safety incidents and nearly 35,000 Medicare deaths could have been avoided and $1.74 billion could have been saved.

The study also found:

More than half (10 of 16) of the patient safety indicators studied worsened from 2003 to 2005. These 10 indicators worsened, on average, by more than 11.5 percent while the other six indicators improved, on average, by 8 percent.

The total patient safety incident rate worsened by an additional two incidents per 1,000 hospitalizations in 2005 compared with 2003.

Of the 284,798 deaths that occurred among patients who developed one or more patient safety incidents, 247,662 were potentially preventable.

Medicare beneficiaries who developed one or more patient safety incidents had a 1-in-4 chance of dying during the hospitalization during 2003 to 2005.

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A full copy of the HealthGrades study can be found at healthgrades.com.