Accurate Measures?

Researchers are close to obtaining enough information on such key factors as blood pressure, cholesterol, tobacco use, and obesity to actually rate communities according to risk, he says.² “That’s never been done at the local level, and I think it’s where we need to go to truly put things on a level playing field when you’re assessing quality.” TH

Bryn Nelson is a freelance medical writer based in Seattle.

References

1. Curry LA, Spatz E, Cherlin E, et al. What distinguishes top-performing hospitals in acute myocardial infarction mortality rates? Ann Intern Med. 2001;154(6):384-390.
2. Murray CJ, Kulkarni SC, Michaud C, et al. Eight Americas: investigating mortality disparities across races, counties, and race-counties in the United States. PLoS Med. 2006;3(9):e260.