North Shore-LIJ hospital to post new data online

In order to improve the safety of their patients, the North Shore-LIJ Health System will now post information regarding hospital infection rates and performance online.
“For far too long, hospitals and other healthcare providers have operated in a vacuum in interacting with the public,” said North Shore-LIJ Health System president and chief executive officer Michael J. Dowling. “The more information made available to the public on how well hospitals perform, the more transparent the healthcare system becomes to consumers - and that’s a good thing because greater scrutiny will produce improvements in the quality of care.”
In making information public on their website, North Shore-LIJ has become the first non-public hospital in New York State to do so.
Three year’s worth of data from 10 of the healthcare system’s hospitals concerning five common infections will be on the web site. They are ventilator-associated pneumonia, bloodstream infections that catheters cause, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus auereus, surgical site infections and clostridium difficile.
Other information that will be available on their web site will be how they have fared treating patients suffering from heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia. Success regarding cardiac bypass surgeries and joint replacement surgeries will also be posted.
“Our efforts at public reporting are aimed at building trust with patients and reinforcing the message that quality is a continuous work in progress,” said Dr. Lawrence G. Smith, the chief medical officer of the North Shore-LIJ Health System. “On this new website, we’re comfortable sharing information with the public about those areas where we are strong as well as those areas where we need to do better. It’s all part of our commitment to continuous improvement.”
North Shore-LIJ Health System hospitals whose data will be posted include Forest Hills Hospital, Franklin Hospital, Glen Cove Hospital, Huntington Hospital, LIJ Medical Center, North Shore University Hospital, Plainview Hospital, Southside Hospital, Staten Island University Hospital and Syosset Hospital.
To access the information on the North Shore-LIJ Health System’s quality website, visit www.northshorelij.com/quality.