In-hospital mortality data are misleading

The percentage of in-hospital deaths within 30 days of an admission for surgery has fallen from 79% in 1963-74 to 61% in 1987-98. This reflects decreases in length of hospital stays and an increase in transfers of acutely ill patients between hospitals for specialist care. Goldacre and colleagues (p 1069) argue that in-hospital mortality is now an incomplete measure of mortality and records should be linked to data from death certificates.

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