Mortality Rate (Hospital)
The rate of patient deaths within 30 days of hospital admission for specific conditions — risk-adjusted to account for differences in patient severity.
How It Works
CMS tracks 30-day mortality rates for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, COPD, stroke, coronary artery bypass graft, and other conditions. Rates are risk-adjusted using patient age, sex, comorbidities, and other clinical factors to enable fair comparison between hospitals. Hospitals are categorized as "better than the national rate," "no different than the national rate," or "worse than the national rate." A hospital with "worse than expected" mortality rates across multiple conditions raises serious safety concerns. Mortality data is publicly reported on Medicare.gov and factors into the CMS star rating.
Related Terms
- CMS Star Rating (Hospital Overall Rating) — A 1-to-5 star rating assigned by CMS to hospitals based on quality measures — covering mortality, safety, readmissions, patient experience, and timely care.
- Readmission Rate — The percentage of patients who return to the hospital within 30 days of discharge for the same or related condition — a key quality metric tracked by CMS.
- Value Score — HospitalCostData's proprietary A-F grade combining price (40%), quality rating (40%), and patient outcomes (20%) — measuring whether a hospital delivers good care at a fair price.
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About This Definition
This definition is part of the HospitalCostData Hospital Pricing Glossary — 25 terms explaining hospital costs, quality ratings, and healthcare billing. Written for patients, journalists, researchers, and healthcare professionals.