Indicators of Hospital Service Quality Using Mortality Statistics

Abstract

Death rates have long been used by hospitals as a reliable benchmark for assessing the quality of their medical services. The goal of this study was to determine the gross death rate (GDR) and net death rate (NDR) in King Fahad hospital in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), as well as the demographic features of deaths in 2000 according to ICD-10 as indices of hospital treatment quality, from 1994 to 2000. Medical records of released patients, including fatalities, were evaluated in the year 2000. (13386). The complete list of all fatalities was collected. The analysed hospital's GDR gradually declined from 5.8% to 4.5 percent (1994–1998), then grew slightly from 4.9 to 5.0 percent (1999–2000). The study's findings revealed a gradual reduction in GDR from 5.8% to 4.5 percent (1994–1998), followed by a minor increase from 4.9 to 5.0 percent (1999–2000), but still below the year 1994 (5.8%), as well as a gradual decrease in NDR from 4.6 to 3.6 percent over the study period. During the year 2000, GDR in many hospital departments revealed that the Medical ICU had the highest rate (24.5%), followed by Surgical ICU (17.9%), and Cardiac ICU (14.3%), with GDR in the Medical department (12.9%) of the discharged participants. Saudis accounted for 62 percent of all deaths, followed by Yemenis (8.2%), while Egyptians accounted for 3.7 percent of total deaths in the year under investigation. In terms of age groups, those 65–74 years old had the highest PMR (21.9%), while those 13–24 years old had the lowest (4.2 percent). March (10.4 percent), April (9.7%), and February (9.4%), which are the months of pilgrimage season, had the greatest PMR of deaths throughout the studied year, while December had the lowest frequency (6.9 percent). PMR levels were also found to be greater in females (57%) than in males (43 percent). According to the International Classification of Diseases, diseases affecting the circulatory system were the most common underlying cause of mortality in the studied year (ICD-10). It was followed by neoplasms (11.2%) and mental and behavioral issues, which accounted for the least number of deaths (35.5%). (0.1 percent). Finally, when the prior variables are combined and the findings are compared to other hospitals in different countries, it is concluded that the researched hospital provides high-quality medical care.