Death from any cause within 30 days of hospitalization for pneumonia
Pneumonia is a leading cause of death in the United States. Treatment with the right antibiotics may reduce deaths from pneumonia. While some patients have higher risks than others, and some die from causes unrelated to the pneumonia which brought them to the hospital first, some complications leading to death within 30 days may be preventable. A lower rate may indicate that a hospital provides a higher level of patient care.
About this measure
Mortality rate is the statistical measure of the number of people who die within a period of time. The pneumonia mortality rate below is the percent of patients with pneumonia who died within 30 days of admission to the hospital.
These percentages were calculated from Medicare data on patients discharged between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2012. They don't include people in Medicare Advantage Plans (like an HMO or PPO) or people who don’t have Medicare.
Note: Northwestern Memorial Hospital's results are statistically better than the national rate.
In this case, a lower number is better.