CDC Reports Decrease in Deaths at Hospitals

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that inpatient hospital deaths decreased 8% from 2000 to 2010, while hospitalizations increased 11% during that period.  The data is derived from the National Hospital Discharge Survey.

Among other findings, the survey shows:

• About one-third of the deaths occurred in short-term hospitals
• Patients who died at hospitals had longer hospital stays than all patients (In 2010, 7.9 days for patients who died at the hospital contrasted to 4.8 days for all hospital patients)
• Over one-quarter of patients who died in the hospital stayed 10 days or more
• The average age of patients who died at hospitals was 72 to 73
• In 2000, 2.5 of every 100 inpatients died in the hospital; in 2010, this rate decreased to 2.0 of every 100