tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post7058232610614598354..comments2023-09-21T04:02:29.457-04:00Comments on Skeptical Scalpel: Why hospital rankings are bogus Skeptical Scalpelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13206922456661320751noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-62737247945148537922016-04-02T15:56:20.703-04:002016-04-02T15:56:20.703-04:00Anon, thanks for commenting. I guess if efficiency...Anon, thanks for commenting. I guess if efficiency is your primary concern, you have hit the jackpot. Skeptical Scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13206922456661320751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-34660381090123308452016-04-02T11:50:26.340-04:002016-04-02T11:50:26.340-04:00Kaiser is terrific from my point of view. My fami...Kaiser is terrific from my point of view. My family is replete with MDs (I'm a retired computer scientist) and HMO's were anathema in family discussions. But finally my wife went to Kaiser and eventually I tried it, too. It's incredibly efficient. One time I had a small growth on my nose and the GP (or gateway physician, or whatever) said I should consult a dermatologist. He got on the phone and ten minutes later the dermatologist came to me! I don't know if the GP or the dermatologist know the first thing about medicine but the efficiency is so welcome. Even with my anesthesiologist father running interference, medical practice in my youth involved interminable waits and visits to separated clinics. My ancient mother is now in Florida and health care there is like something out of Kafka.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-72024533947787797022016-03-21T21:25:57.319-04:002016-03-21T21:25:57.319-04:00Michael, thanks for commenting. For those too lazy...Michael, thanks for commenting. For those too lazy to copy and paste the link, here's the definition of Campbell's law. "When a quantitative social indicator (or even some qualitative indicator) is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor."<br /><br />Rocky, thanks for the information. Good point about the potential for patient harm. Luckily I think most people in the real world Have never heard about things like The Leapfrog Group or the Surgeon Scorecard. Skeptical Scalpelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13206922456661320751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-45234924340600274322016-03-21T18:18:40.551-04:002016-03-21T18:18:40.551-04:00One of the hospital systems that I'm not affil...One of the hospital systems that I'm not affiliated with, but know well, in my area (Texas), has one of its tiny "spoke" hospitals on the list of 98.<br /><br />Of course, none of its "mothership" hospitals are listed (which are the places that actually provide the advanced services one might really desire in a time of need).<br /><br />It seems obvious to me that the current information provided by Leapfrog does nothing of the sort for educating the public on where they should actually go in a time of need.<br /><br />I try hard not to fault "legitimate" effort most of the time, but I would propose that (in its current state) rankings such as Leapfrog's may actually be detrimental/harmful to certain patients who choose to use the information to select a hospital.<br /><br />Help us all if another third-party industry is soon to be on the brink of establishment... one that evaluates the "quality" of the "quality" rankings.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01546252968105068554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4968787219619380438.post-87898282942474687352016-03-21T12:41:45.356-04:002016-03-21T12:41:45.356-04:00Excellent. Indeed, those at the top of the rankin...Excellent. Indeed, those at the top of the rankings shine at producing metrics, though not necessarily at providing care. Another example of Campbell's law. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell%27s_lawAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14734453773842049624noreply@blogger.com