Medicare Ranks Florida Hospitals
Medical MalpracticeOn a five star system, Medicare has a ranking system to rank hospitals in the United States. In Florida, there were no 5-star hospitals and only two 4-star hospitals. None of these hospitals were located in Polk County, Florida. Polk County’s most significant hospitals are ranked and listed below. Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center and Winter Haven Hospital are both ranked as 2-star hospitals while Lake Wales Medical Center received only a 1-star ranking.
Seven Criteria Used To Determine Rankings
According to Medicare,the methodology they use is based on a statistical model called a latent variable model. There are seven variable models that go into the overall formula that is used to calculate scores for the seven groups of measures. They are listed below:
- Mortality
- Safety of Care
- Readmissions
- Patient Experience
- Effectiveness of Care
- Timeliness of Care
- Efficient Use of Medical Imaging
From this chart, there are only 133 1 star hospitals in the country. This places Lake Wales Medical Center in the bottom 2.9% of ranked hospitals in the country. Winter Haven Hospital and Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, as 2 star hospitals, which make up 15.7% of hospitals ranked hospitals in the country. Bartow Regional Medical Center was ranked as a 3 star hospital. Three star hospitals make up the largest portion of hospitals in the country at 38.5%. This ranking system shows a bell curve with the majority of Florida hospitals on the bottom half of the curve.
How Good Is Each Hospital?
From the 7 criteria listed above as being evaluated, safety of care, effectiveness of care, and timeliness of care are factors that are of concern to a Florida medical malpractice lawyer. If you have an emergency medical condition that threatens your life, you need to be at a hospital that has a good track record of those three factors. Your health is at serious risk if your medical condition is not accurately diagnosed. We frequently call this a missed diagnosis or wrong diagnosis. Your health is also at serious risk if your medical condition is diagnosed correctly but is not timely diagnosed. This is what Florida medical malpractice attorneys typically call a delay in diagnosis.
Talk To A Lakeland Medical Malpractice Attorney About Your Case
If you or a loved one has a potential medical malpractice issue in Lakeland or Polk County, Florida, please contact a Lakeland medical malpractice lawyer for a free consultation.