Pneumonia: Appropriate Treatment
Performing Blood Cultures
What are we measuring?
Percent of pneumonia patients having blood cultures performed prior to first antibiotic received in the hospital.
Why is it important?
Since different types of bacteria can cause pneumonia, hospitals should complete a blood culture test to determine which bacteria may have caused pneumonia and which antibiotic will work best. A blood culture is useful to help determine how to best treat the pneumonia and to determine if any precautions are necessary to prevent the spread of illness.
What does our performance tells us?
BIDMC reports its performance on this measure every quarter to the US Department of Health & Human Services, which posts this information on its website at Hospital Compare. The chart below shows BIDMC’s most recent quarterly performance, compared to the performance of the nation’s Top 10% hospitals. Look for big differences in the scores in order to be sure the difference is meaningful. Small differences may not reflect real differences in performance (i.e., they may not be statistically significant).
Source of comparison data: Hospital Compare , Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, October, 2011.
View our past performance over time.
According to Hospital Compare , 100% of patients with pneumonia at the nation's Top 10% of hospitals are given a blood culture to determine the appropriate antibiotic for treatment. At BIDMC, 97% of patients with pneumonia are given a blood culture to determine the appropriate antibiotic for treatment. Therefore, BIDMC’s performance is just below the nation's Top 10% of hospitals for giving a blood culture to determine the appropriate antibiotic to treat patients with pneumonia.
What are we doing to improve our performance?
BIDMC Emergency Department physicians and nurses continue to work on improving protocols and procedures related to appropriate blood culture testing prior to the administration of antibiotics.
Choosing Appropriate Antibiotics
What are we measuring?
Percent of patients given appropriate antibiotics upon arrival.
Why is this important?
Bacteria or viruses cause pneumonia. When caused by bacteria, pneumonia is treated with antibiotics. Hospitals should choose the antibiotics that best treat the type of bacteria causing the infection for each pneumonia patient.
What does our performance tell us?
BIDMC reports its performance on this measure every quarter to the US Department of Health & Human Services, which posts this information on its website at Hospital Compare. The chart below shows BIDMC’s most recent quarterly performance, compared to the performance of the nation’s Top 10% hospitals. Look for big differences in the scores in order to be sure the difference is meaningful. Small differences may not reflect real differences in performance (i.e., they may not be statistically significant).
Source of comparison data: Hospital Compare, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, October, 2011.
View our past performance over time.
According to Hospital Compare, 99% of patients with pneumonia at the nation's Top 10% of hospitals are given the appropriate antibiotic for treatment. At BIDMC, 96% of patients with pneumonia are given the appropriate antibiotic for treatment. Therefore, BIDMC's performance is below the nation's Top 10% of hospitals for giving the appropriate antibiotic to patients with pneumonia.
Administering Timely Medication
What we are measuring?
The percent of patients that receive antibiotics within six hours of arrival.
Why is it important?
Patients who have pneumonia caused by bacteria need to receive antibiotics as soon as possible to reduce the risk of serious complications.
What does our performance tell us?
BIDMC reports its performance on this measure every quarter to the US Department of Health & Human Services, which posts this information on its website at Hospital Compare. The chart below shows BIDMC’s most recent quarterly performance, compared to the performance of the nation’s Top 10% hospitals. Look for big differences in the scores in order to be sure the difference is meaningful. Small differences may not reflect real differences in performance (i.e., they may not be statistically significant).
Source of comparison data: Hospital Compare, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, October, 2011.
View our past performance over time.
According to Hospital Compare, 100% of patients with bacterial pneumonia at the nation's Top 10% hospitals are given initial antibiotics for treatment within six hours of arrival. At BIDMC, 93% of patients with bacterial pneumonia are given initial antibiotics for treatment within six hours of arrival. Therefore, BIDMC's performance is below the nation's Top 10% of hospitals for giving initial antibiotics to patients with bacterial pneumonia within six hours of arrival.
What are we doing to improve our performance?
The problem of hospital and emergency department overcrowding has contributed to our performance on this measure this quarter. To help address this issue, a pneumonia clinical pathway was implemented to permit emergency department nurses to identify and receive timely orders for antibiotics for patients that are waiting in the emergency unit for an inpatient bed. This pathway streamlines the steps that are to be taken when a patient comes to the emergency department with a possible pneumonia and by doing so should increase the number of patients receiving initial antibiotics within six hours.
Other useful measures on pneumonia care:
Last updated: January 2, 2012
