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Pneumonia Patients Whose Initial Emergency Room Blood Culture Was Performed Prior to the Administration of the First Hospital Dose of Antibiotics
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| Institution | Rating |
|---|---|
| U.S. Average1 | 97% |
| N.C. Average2 | 97% |
| Top Hospitals3 | 100% |
| Duke Raleigh Hospital | 99% |
| Duke University Hospital | 99% |
| Durham Regional Hospital | 99% |
The rates displayed in this graph are for discharges April 2011 through March 2012.
Source:
hospitalcompare.hhs.gov
(1) The U.S. average includes all reporting hospitals in the United States.
(2) The N.C. average includes all reporting hospitals in the state of North Carolina.
(3) "Top Hospitals" represent the top 10% of hospitals nationwide. These hospitals achieved 100% on this measure.
What Does This Measure?
The percentage of eligible pneumonia patients who had a blood culture taken prior to receiving antibiotics.
Why Is This Important?
If pneumonia is caused by bacteria, hospitals will usually treat the infection with antibiotics. Different antibiotics are more effective at treating different bacteria.
Hospitals use blood culture tests to determine the most effective antibiotic to treat a particular strain of pneumonia.
What Are We Doing to Improve Our Performance?
Duke has enacted several initiatives to improve our performance. These include:
- Computerized physician order entry (CPOE)
- Electronic medical records (EMR)
- Evidence-based medicine
- Nursing and physician education
- Patient advocacy and support groups
- Patient rounding
- Patient safety and clinical quality committees
- Pneumonia-specific discharge instructions and patient education materials
- Six Sigma
- Standardized order sets
More Information
