News Releases

Memorial Hermann Begins Sharing Quality Indicators Data on Web
-- Publication meant to aid consumers

Houston, Texas, November 2, 2005 – Memorial Hermann announced today that it is publishing data related to three dimensions of quality: clinical quality, patient safety and service quality. The information will be accessible on the Memorial Hermann Web site, www.memorialhermann.org.

“More and more, health care consumers are taking an active role in choosing facilities where they will receive care,” says John Zerwas, M.D., chief medical officer of Memorial Hermann. “Memorial Hermann believes that sharing this data with the public is the right thing to do, and we should hold ourselves publicly accountable for our performance.”

It is believed that the published quality data for individual hospitals will aid consumers in making wise choices. Memorial Hermann offers the data in a format that is easily accessed and understood. The data will be updated quarterly.

The clinical quality indicators measure processes of care for patients experiencing heart attack, congestive heart failure and pneumonia. Application of these “best practices” has been shown to lead to better outcomes. For example, was aspirin administered upon arrival to heart attack patients?

In addition to these clinical quality indicators, the Memorial Hermann Web site shares current information on other dimensions of quality – including patient satisfaction and patient safety.

Memorial Hermann is participating in the “100,000 Lives” campaign, sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to implement procedures that could ultimately save 100,000 lives each year. Among the initiatives are efforts to reduce surgical site infections, prevent adverse drug reactions and deployment of rapid response teams designed to intervene quickly to prevent life-threatening occurrences. 

Additionally, the 12 Memorial Hermann hospitals continuously monitor service quality, using a nationally established survey tool to measure and report patient satisfaction throughout the hospitals.  

For more information, contact Media Relations.