R E H A B I L I T A T I O N - Ontario Hospital Association

INTERPRETING THE RESULTSAs there can be competing interests and incentives in the management of hospitals to maximizeboth quality and efficiency and maintain a balance of resources in the context of limited resources,no single indicator or quadrant should be used to assess a hospital. All aspects of performanceare important. One indicator on its own will provide an incomplete picture of overall performance.The indicator results in this report should be viewed as screening tests that can identify potentialopportunities for quality improvement. In medicine, screening tests do not provide a definitivediagnosis, but can help to identify patients that require follow-up. Similarly, comparisons of indicatorresults may not offer a definitive assessment of a hospital’s performance. Further investigative workis required by hospitals to better understand the factors underlying their results and identifyspecific strategies or areas for improvement.There are many factors that can cause indicator values to vary from hospital to hospital. Someof these factors, such as the diversity in patient characteristics and the populations served arebeyond a hospital’s control. For this reason, comparisons of indicator scores among hospitals andLHINs should be made with caution. It is also important to exercise caution when examining yearto-yearchanges in indicator values. This is because the methodology used to calculate indicatorsis reviewed annually, and in some cases, changes are made to improve the methodology overtime. There are certain instances where risk adjustment is not warranted as it does not entirelyeliminate the impact of other factors. As in previous years, rehabilitation indicators were presentedunadjusted, as it has been shown that there is no significant impact on mean scores.Where Can You Find MoreInformation?Further information is available in thetechnical summaries, which can beaccessed through the Hospital Reportwebsite at www.hospitalreport.ca.The technical summaries provide moredetailed definitions of the indicatorsand the statistical methods used tocalculate the results.PAGE 6