Has Joint Commission Certification of Primary Stroke Centers Affected Outcomes?

Among Medicare beneficiaries, 30-day mortality rates after ischemic stroke, but not 30-day readmission rates, were somewhat better at certified than at noncertified centers.

Primary stroke centers (PSCs) certified by the Joint Commission (JC) have received a great deal of attention and resources, yet data on how JC certification of PSCs affects treatment outcomes after stroke are limited. Now, researchers have assessed whether Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older who were discharged in 2006 with a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke had better rates of 30-day risk-standardized mortality (RSMR) and readmission (RSRR) after being hospitalized at JC-certified PSCs (63,455 patients) or at other centers (246,926 patients).

The RSMR at JC-certified PSCs was statistically significantly lower than at noncertified centers (10.7% vs. 11.0%). Almost half of JC-certified PSC hospitals had RSMRs lower than the national a…

Reviewing Author

Irene Katzan, MD

Has Joint Commission Certification of Primary Stroke Centers Affected Outcomes?

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Reviewing Author