The Trend of Risk-adjusted Hospital Mortality Rates of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patients from 2001 to 2003

Lee, Kwang Soo

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether the risk-adjusted inhospital mortality rates for non-emergent and isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) patients exhibited a consistent trend from 2001 to 2003. METHODS: The data used in this study came from CABG claims that were submitted to a Korean Health Insurance Review Agency (HIRA) in 2001, 2002, and 2003. Study datasets included data from 17 tertiary hospitals, which had at least 25 claims each year over 3 years. The interhospital differences in patients' risk-factors were identified and controlled in the risk-adjustment model. Actual and predicted mortality rates for each hospital were calculated in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2001+2002, and were then examined to identify consistent rate patterns over time. Kappa analysis was applied to assess the agreements between rates. RESULTS: Hospitals with lower-than-expected inpatient mortality rates showed more consistent rates than those with higher-than-expected mortality rates. The mortality rates that were calculated based on data obtained over multiple years had less variation among hospitals than rates based on single year data. Based on the Kappa score, the highest agreement was found when the rates were compared between the 2-year combined data (2001+2002) and 2003. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent patterns over 3 years were most evident for hospitals which had lower-than expected mortality rates. Policy makers can use this information to identify the degree of outcomes in hospitals and help motivate or channel the behaviors of providers.