Quality and safety performance in teaching hospitals

The Hospital Quality Alliance created a vehicle to display Hospital Performance data which is known as Hospital Compare. Overall, the data shows that teaching hospitals perform very well in the areas of Heart Failure and Heart Attack and not as well in Pneumonia care. Unique issues at teaching hospitals, such as timing for specific patient services, continue to be a concern in achieving high scores relative to their non-teaching peers. Most hospitals and specifically surgical services will be challenged in the upcoming years with the addition of the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures as we move into the pay-for-performance era.