Intracranial Hemorrhage Outcomes Best in JC-Certified Hospitals

Intracranial Hemorrhage Outcomes Best in JC-Certified Hospitals
Monday, November 7, 2011
By: Eleanor McDermid

Eleanor McDermid, Stroke 2011; Advance online publication

Patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are more likely to survive if they are treated in a hospital certified as a Joint Commission (JC) Primary Stroke Center (PSC), research shows.

"Although JC-PSC certification primarily focuses on the care of ischemic stroke patients, many of the ischemic stroke care measures are also applicable to patients with hemorrhagic stroke, and Joint Commission surveyors review the records of patients with hemorrhagic stroke as part of their on-site visits," said Judith Lichtman (Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.) and colleagues.

"The effect seen in the current analyses for hemorrhagic patients may reflect this overlap and review, or indicate that JC-PSC certification is a marker of hospitals that are dedicated to giving high-quality stroke care irrespective of stroke subtype."

As reported in the journal Stroke, the team studied Medicare data for fee-for-service patients. They included 2,305 SAH patients and 8,708 ICH patients treated in JC-PSC-certified hospitals and 3,892 SAH and 22,564 ICH patients treated in noncertified hospitals.