Quality and Safety

Duke Health is committed to delivering high-quality care and providing reliable, easy-to-understand information about how we compare to our peers.

Information from independent, third-party sources highlights how our hospitals follow care guidelines that lead to better patient outcomes, and how satisfied patients are with their Duke experience. You can use these sites to find information on Duke Hospitals' performance across different areas such as patient experience, readmission rates, and timely, effective, safe care.

Please visit the Medicare compare site or Leapfrog for information on Duke hospitals' performance with infections, such as central line and surgical site infections, hand hygiene, readmissions, and mortality.

Health Care Quality Organizations

Duke Health participates in national and state performance measurement programs to help us improve our care and help you make informed choices about your care.

Medicare.gov
Medicare provides a useful tool for comparing physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, and others in your area. The tool was created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that runs the Medicare program. You do not have to be on Medicare to use this tool to make an informed decision about providers and locations near you that meet your needs.

Hospital Quality Alliance
The Hospital Quality Alliances is a partnership between the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and organizations representing hospitals, doctors, employers, accrediting organizations, other federal agencies, and the public. The Hospital Quality Alliance tracks 20 healthcare quality measures to reflect how well hospitals deliver treatments for heart attack (acute myocardial infarction), heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical infection prevention using data securely gathered from patient medical records. Hospitals receive a star rating based on the measures for which data are available.

The Joint Commission
The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization that evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States. The Joint Commission accredits all Duke Health entities. Quality and safety data are collected through on-site inspections and patient medical records.

Leapfrog
Duke Health hospitals provide data to Leapfrog, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to collect and transparently report on hospital performance. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

National Surgery Quality Improvement Program
The American College of Surgeons' quality improvement program helps Duke Health and other U.S. hospitals improve surgical outcomes. Risk-adjusted data based on 30-day outcomes are collected from patients' medical charts. ACS NSQIP collects data and provides analysis to help surgeons and hospitals better understand their quality of care compared to similar hospitals with similar patients.

Magnet Recognition Program
Duke Health is one of the few Magnet-designated health systems in the U.S. Awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), Magnet recognizes healthcare organizations for outstanding nursing practice, quality outcomes, and leadership. All Duke Health hospitals are Magnet hospitals.

Responding to Patient Concerns

We want each patient’s experience to be a positive one, but we recognize this may not always be the case. We encourage you to contact us with any concerns.