Correlation between compensated patient claims and 30-day mortality

Abstract

Objective: To test if compensation claims from patients (reported to the Norwegian System of Patient Injury Compensation) are correlated with the existing quality indicator of 30-day mortality (based on data from Norwegian Patient Registry). This correlation has not been previously evaluated. Design: The association between patient claims and 30-day mortality at hospital trust level was assessed by the Pearson correlation coefficient. Setting: The Norwegian System of Patient Injury Compensation is a governmental agency under the Ministry of Health and Care Services and deals with patient-reported complaints about incorrect treatment in the public and private healthcare services. Patient-reported claims may be an indicator of healthcare quality, as 30-day mortality. Participants: All 19 Norwegian hospital trusts. Interventions:: None. Main outcome measure: Patient claims rates, 30-day mortality and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Both number of deaths within 30 days and number of claims have declined over time. High correlation (0.77, P < 0.001) was found between number of deaths within 30 days and the total number of claims. In addition, an even stronger association was found with approved claims, with a correlation coefficient of 0.83 (P < 0.001). Moreover, adjusted 30-day mortality was significantly correlated with the patient-claim rate using number of bed-days as denominator, but not when using number of discharges. Conclusions: The results from the present study indicate an association between compensation claims from patients and 30-day mortality, suggesting that both parameters reflect the latent quality of care for the hospital trusts, but they may capture different aspects of care.