Pneumonia Care - Quality Measurement
Pneumonia is one of most common reasons for hospitalization. Most patients that are hospitalized with pneumonia have a bacterial infection that needs prompt treatment with antibiotics.
Research has shown that one of the most important things we can do to speed recovery and reduce complications is to make the diagnosis swiftly and start antibiotics within 6 hours of arrival at the hospital. We measure many things related to pneumonia management but are reporting this key intervention because it can be more challenging.
Pneumonia Care
Pneumonia is an infection in the lungs that can be caused by viruses, bacteria and occasionally other organisms. One of the most common causes of pneumonia is a bacteria called, Pneumococcus.
Pneumovax Vaccination for Pneumonia
There is a vaccine for the bacterium that causes Pneumonia called Pneumovax that should be given at least once to everyone over the age of 65, and selected individuals with other health problems.
This vaccine can significantly reduce the likelihood of “catching” this pneumonia, or at least reducing its severity. Therefore, it is important that every patient hospitalized with pneumonia who is over 65 receive this vaccine while they are in the hospital–not to change the course of that pneumonia, but to reduce the likelihood of them getting that particular infection again.
Pneumonia Care Performance Report of Danbury Hospital
We measure and report how often we give the vaccine, Pneumovax, to eligible patients.
Medicare, or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), requires all hospitals to track and report on a number of measures for pneumonia care. We have selected some of those to report here which we believe are most critical or most challenging. Medicare sends auditors to each hospital to ensure that the reporting is accurate. We have always been found to be reporting accurately.
You may review our performance on these and all the other Medicare mandated measures by going to the Hospital Compare web site from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.