OSHPD Releases Hip Fracture Data

About 2,000 elderly patients who underwent surgery at California hospitals for hip fractures died in 2012 and 2013 within 30 days of their admission, according to new data released by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.

Those deaths translate to an overall mortality rate of 5.39%, although data from OSHPD indicates that the mortality rate can vary widely from hospital to hospital. Altogether, 38,183 patients over the age of 65 were treated for hip fractures, and 2,057 died. Of those, 52% died after discharge from the hospital but less than 30 days after they were admitted. OSHPD said 302 hospitals submitted their data and 247 had large enough patient volumes to be ranked for quality.

OSHPD said three hospitals had above-average scores based on a significant volume of treating patients with hip fractures. Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles had the best mortality rate statewide: None of the 83 patients it treated in 2012 and 2013 died. At Washington Hospital in Fremont, just two patients out of the 132 patients treated died, for a risk-adjusted mortality rate of 1.28%. At California Pacific Medical Center's Pacific campus in San Francisco, four patients out of 211 died, for a mortality rate of 1.76%.

Five hospitals had worse-than-average mortality rates: Marian Regional Medical Center in Arroyo Grande (11 deaths out of 94 patients treated for a risk-adjusted mortality rate of 13.3%); San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield (22 deaths out of 233 patients for 10%); Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno (18 deaths out of 198 patients for 9.89%); Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs (23 deaths out of 293 patients for 9.45%); Hemet Valley Medical Center, (32 deaths out of 302 patients for 9.08%)