By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Why Are Good Hospitals Good?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Why Are Good Hospitals Good?
BusinessHospital Administration

Why Are Good Hospitals Good?

JohnCGoodman
JohnCGoodman
Share
2 Min Read
SHARE

Do high volume providers get better results because they perform procedures more often? Or do they perform procedures more often because of referrals from doctors who know they are good at what they do? This is ­Austin Frakt, writing at his blog (entire post is worth reading):

Hospitals that perform a greater volume of a specific procedure do it better, right? Well, actually, that’s believable and supported by evidence. Now for the harder question: it’s the greater volume that causes the better outcomes, right? You know, “learning by doing,” “practice makes perfect,” etc. …

In fact, there’s good reason to believe causality runs the other way too. Hospitals that yield better outcomes have higher volume, a referral effect. Ask 100 physicians in your area where to have a CABG and the results won’t be random. They’ll point you to the well-known facility or two that do the best job, perhaps with the lowest mortality. So, more patients will go to those, increasing their volume. Low mortality causes higher volume. That’s not “practice makes perfect.” That’s a referral effect.

A recent paper in Health Economics…[finds that] after controlling for the simultaneity of volume and mortality…“specialty hospitals do not have an advantage over general hospitals in mortality rates after cardiac revascularization.” … Therefore, efforts to increase volume may not themselves increase the quality of outcomes.

More Read

medical billing
HHS Secretary to Create Transparency Mechanisms to Address Medical Billing Costs
Paying Bills: A Novel Idea in Southern Europe
What do ACO-Minded Providers Want?
Are Radiologists Not Getting Paid for ED Procedures?
How Doctors Are Trapped, Part II
TAGGED:health care businesshospitals
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025
AI in Healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Technology is Transforming the Global Landscape
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
October 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Swimwear for Health and Safety
News
September 30, 2025
sports concussions
Concussion In Sports: How Common They Are And What You Need To Know
Infographics
September 28, 2025

You Might also Like

Implementing Kaizen for a Lean Health Care Transformation

June 3, 2012

Looking for Lucrative Customers: Hospital Marketing Gets Serious

February 7, 2012

Gawande’s Kitchen

August 22, 2012
Image
BusinessNews

High Quality, Low Cost HealthCare Video Interview Series: Jeanne Pinder and ClearHealthCosts

October 9, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?