New York – New Web Site Tracks Health Care on Preventable Hospitalizations

New York – Although New York’s health-care system is one of the country’s most expensive, it ranks 39th in hospital admissions for preventable conditions. The state is taking steps to change that, Health Commissioner Richard Daines said.

Daines, a physician, announced a new Web site that charts hospital admission rates by ZIP code for a variety of conditions. By showing geographic areas where there are potential gaps in preventive and primary care, the site will serve as a tool in revamping the state’s health-care system, he said.

“When we have more detailed local data, our efforts to meet needs within the community” are greatly improved, Daines said.

A central focus of Gov. David Paterson’s administration, has been reducing what the state spends on inpatient care and concentrating more resources on preventive care in the community.

Preventable hospitalizations are divided into several categories on the Web site:

* Circulatory conditions (angina, congestive heart failure, hypertension).

* Diabetes-related conditions (short-term and long-term complications, lower-extremity amputation, uncontrolled diabetes).

* Respiratory conditions (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

* Acute conditions (bacterial pneumonia, dehydration, urinary tract infection).

The data shed light on disparities between racial and ethnic groups when it comes to preventable hospitalizations. The challenge in areas where racial and ethnic groups have disproportionately higher hospital admission rates is to expand access to good primary care and better chronic disease management.

In the downtown Brooklyn ZIP codes of 11201, 11205 and 11217, the rate of uncontrolled diabetes is more than 2.5 times the statewide average.
Statistics like those are a strong indicator that people who live in the ZIP codes aren’t getting the care they need, Daines said.

For example for Maimonides Medical Center.

Measure Name Performance
Appropriate heart attack care
January 1-December 31, 2007  94%

Appropriate heart failure care
January 1-December 31, 2007  96.7%

Appropriate pneumonia care
January 1-December 31, 2007  95.5%

Appropriate surgical infection prevention
January 1-December 31, 2007  86.6%

Adult heart surgery mortality rate

Bypass operations only
January 1-December 31, 2005 (average)

Valve operations or valve/bypass operations
January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2005 (below average)

Angioplasty mortality rate
Angioplasty
January 1-December 31, 2005 (below average)

In reviewing statistics for their community, hospitals and ambulatory care providers may decide to collaborate on screening for certain diseases and treatment, Daines said.

Public-health officials could use it to help evaluate a community’s health, diet and school programs. Members of the public can also benefit from the information, he said.

In phase 2 of developing the Web site, the Health Department will include data about children’s hospitalizations and other statistics, he said.

Senate Health Committee Chairman Kemp Hannon, R-Nassau County, said the state now has the tools to make decisions based on evidence.
“It’s dealing with a measuring stick, a yard stick. We really haven’t had that before,” he said.

Ultimately, greater use of primary care will make the health-care system more affordable because it will reduce the number of expensive hospitalizations that are avoidable, Hannon said in a statement.