Case study: Cincinnati Children's tracks care

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is building a national reputation as a pediatric care center, attracting a quarter of its patients from out of its service area. It's done that, in part, by focusing on quality and efficiency measures favored by the manufacturing industry. A key part of this program is its insistence on tracking patient outcomes both within and outside of the hospital setting.

Cincinnati Children's tracks, among other things, how many patients develop surgical infections, using that data to cut the number to 42 last year from 95 in 2005, what range of motion juvenile arthritis patients achieve and how cystic fibrosis patients were functioning relative to patients at other children's facilities. This focus on data is driven by CEO James Anderson, a former head of an industrial valve maker rather than hospital industry insider.

Not only is this quality monitoring strategy well in tune with the current healthcare climate--amassing data that both governments and payors increasingly demand--it's also good business, it seems. The hospital's operating revenue has grown about 50 percent over the last three years, to over $1 billion for fiscal revenue in 2006.

To learn more about Cincinnati Children's progress:
- read this piece in The New York Times article

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