VA Hospitals: How Well Do They Treat Acute Myocardial Infarction, Heart Failure, and Pneumonia?

Questions about the quality of care in Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals have been in the headlines recently. These researchers performed a cross-sectional analysis of mortality and readmission rates in men aged ≥65 with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF), or pneumonia in 104 VA and 1513 non-VA acute-care, urban hospitals.

The analyses used Medicare combined databases and VA administrative claims data from 2010 through 2013. Study subjects at VA hospitals were younger and typically were less likely to be white than those in non-VA hospitals.

In analyses adjusting for risks (i.e., age, patient conditions), VA hospitals had lower mortality rates for AMI and HF than non-VA hospitals but a higher pneumonia mortality rate; percent…