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Government will still publish hospital standardised mortality ratios despite criticism

BMJ 2009; 338 doi: 10.1136/bmj.b1641 (Published 21 April 2009)
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1641

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  1. Zosia Kmietowicz
  1. 1London

    The Department of Health has said it will publish mortality ratios of patients in hospitals in England in the next few weeks despite research indicating that the measures do not help to distinguish between the quality of care provided at different hospitals.

    The department has said that the publication of hospital standardised mortality ratios on the NHS Choices website will allow doctors and the public to more easily compare the performance of local services. The site already carries mortality rates for heart surgery and four other procedures, including hip and knee replacements, for every hospital in England.

    But a study published online by the BMJ last month (2009;338:b7808, doi:10.1136/bmj.b780) criticised the …

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