Standardised mortality ratios should not be used to benchmark hospitals, study concludes

Standardised mortality ratios do not provide an accurate picture of how many deaths could have been avoided and should not be used to benchmark hospitals’ quality of care, a study published in The BMJ has found.1

The research was commissioned by Bruce Keogh, after his review of 14 trusts in 2013 questioned the value of standardised mortality ratios.2 Researchers examined 3400 hospital deaths in 34 randomly selected acute hospital trusts in England in 2009 and 2012-13. Experienced doctors …