Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs)

The quality indicator reports presented on this web site were created using Inpatient Quality Indicator (IQI) software developed by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Department for Health and Human Services (DHHS). IQIs provide a measure of quality for specific medical conditions and surgical procedures performed in a hospital setting.

The data used to develop the IQI reports are standardized administrative information routinely submitted by Kentucky hospitals to bill for their services. This administrative data includes many elements such as procedure codes, diagnosis codes, facility charges and patient demographic information. To fairly report on the quality of inpatient care, the data are “risk-adjusted” to account for the difference in patient severity levels for each facility. Risk-adjusting the data is one way we attempt to level the playing field when comparing hospital quality.

The following reporting format is used to easily identify hospitals performing above average, below average, or average for any given indicator:

GREEN: If a hospital's risk-adjusted rate is better than the national average for an indicator, the rate is displayed in green. For most indicators, lower rates represent better quality.

RED: If a hospital's risk-adjusted rate is worse than the national average, the value is displayed in red.

BLACK: If the risk-adjusted rate is not statistically different from the national average, the indicator is displayed in black.

NOTE: For mortality and utilization indicators, lower rates usually represent better quality. For volume indicators, higher rates may associated with better outcomes

The measures used by the IQIs to assess inpatient quality include the following:

Inpatient mortality for medical conditions which includes the following reports:

• Acute Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack) Mortality Rate (IQI 15)
• Acute Myocardial Infarction, Without Transfer Cases (Heart Attack cases excluding transfer cases) (IQI 32)
• Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Mortality Rate (IQI 16)
• Acute Stroke Mortality Rate (IQI 17)
• Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage (Bleeding in the Digestive Tract) Mortality Rate (IQI 18)
• Hip Fracture Mortality Rate (IQI 19)
• Pneumonia Mortality Rate (IQI 20)

Inpatient mortality for surgical procedures which includes the following reports:

• Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG – Heart Surgery) Mortality Rate (IQI 12)
• Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) Mortality Rate (IQI 30)
• Craniotomy (Brain Surgery) Mortality Rate (IQI 13)
• Hip Replacement Mortality Rate (IQI 14)

Utilization of procedures for which there are questions of overuse, under use or misuse:

• Cesarean Delivery Rate (IQI 21)
• Primary Cesarean Delivery Rate (IQI 33)
• Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery Rate, Uncomplicated (IQI 22)
• Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) Delivery, All (IQI 34)
• Incidental Appendectomy in the Elderly Rate (IQI 24)
• Bilateral Cardiac Catheterization Rate (IQI 25)
  

To run comparisons of hospitals by certain medical procedures and conditions, just follow the steps outlined below.
 
Step 1:       From the drop-down menu, select the Inpatient Quality Indicator (IQI) report you would like to review.  The website currently provides reports on 19 inpatient procedures/conditions.

Step 2:       Select hospitals by geographic region.  The default region for each report is “Statewide” and will include all hospitals in Kentucky performing the selected procedure.   However, you may chose to review only hospitals located within a specific Area Development District (ADD) by clicking on that ADD.

Step 3:       From the drop-down menu, select how you would like your results sorted.  The default sort is cases ascending.

Step 4:       After making your selections, click the “Run” button located above the IQI drop-down box and your report will be displayed.   To select another IQI report, simply return to the drop-down menu, click on the new IQI and click “Run”.

** Note : The reports will not generate if pop ups are restricted in your browser.

Netscape users should try the following if they are unable to view the reports:  Tools -> Options -> Site Controls -> Site Settings tab -> check “Allow Unrestricted Pop Up Windows”

Internet Explorer users should try the following if they are unable to view the reports:  Tools -> Pop Up Blocker -> Turn Off Pop-Up Blocker