St. Cloud Hospital - How to Judge Quality

Patient safety is the top priority at St. Cloud Hospital. Our health care professionals are committed to providing the highest quality care in the safest manner possible. Learn more about Patient Safety in our Patient Safety section.

The Medical Staff of St. Cloud Hospital believes that quality medical care begins with quality physicians. The Medical Staff sets the standards for who may practice here and monitors the performance of each physician. The ability to practice at St. Cloud Hospital is a privilege that is granted by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the Medical Staff.

There are approximately 370 physicians who practice regularly at St. Cloud Hospital. More than 90 percent of these physicians are board-certified in their specialty. All of these physicians go through an initial credentialing process that verifies they graduated from an accredited medical school and have satisfactorily completed their post-medical school training. All this verification is done through direct contact with the school or training hospital. We also check each hospital at which the physician has practiced for references and any quality issues which may have arisen there. We check for current physician licensure, malpractice history and current Medicare compliance. Before a physician’s application is even considered, he must pass a criminal background check.

All of our physicians apply for clinical privileges. For example, a surgeon may apply for the privilege to perform appendectomies. To be given the privilege she must show evidence of training in surgery and appendectomy in particular and must be able to demonstrate that she is currently competent (i.e.: has performed the procedure satisfactorily in the recent past).

Each physician on our staff must go through the credentialing and privileging process every two years. This allows us to make sure that the physician is currently competent to perform the procedures that he performs.

Physician experience is often viewed as an important indicator of quality. In many cases, the more times a physician performs a procedure, the more skillful he becomes. Do not hesitate to ask your doctor how many times he or she has performed a particular procedure.

St. Cloud Hospital staff is made up of highly trained, skilled, compassionate care-givers. Many have undergone advanced training in their areas of expertise. For example, key staff of the Central Minnesota Heart Center and Coborn Cancer Center have attained special certifications or licensure to allow them to care for and address the unique needs of patients with heart disease and cancer, respectively. More than 40% of direct care staff at St. Cloud Hospital have Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees.

In addition the Medical Staff supervises the credentialing and performance of over 360 Allied Health Personnel such as surgical technicians and advanced practice nurses. The same accountability standards apply to them as to physicians.

St. Cloud Hospital provides the latest technology for its increasingly sophisticated and specialized medical staff. This is both a benefit for our patients and an attractor for the best medical talent in the region. Learn more about Technology and Latest Procedures in our Quality Improvement section.

The measurement of clinical quality hinges primarily on three types of measures:

1. Structural indicators

2. Process measures

3. Outcome measures

St. Cloud Hospital uses all types of these measures in an attempt to provide a comprehensive evaluation at multiple dimensions to assess our quality of patient care.

Structural indicators are a measure of whether we have or are developing the appropriate infrastructure to support the delivery of quality care for our patients.

An electronic medical record for communication and reduction of medication and abbreviation errors.
A rapid response team to rescue patients who are deteriorating clinically.
A medication reconciliation program to identify all patient medications and assure that they get on the correct medication and doses at discharge.
An online reporting system for medication errors or "good catches."
Standard order sheets for ordering insulin to decrease the number of prescribing errors.
A "culture of safety" that eliminates individual blame and focuses on early recognition of situations that may cause harm and the analysis of the true causes of events that threaten patient safety.

Process measures allow us to measure how well we are applying proven treatments for patients who need them. We believe that it’s not just the big things that make the difference in patient care but also the little and more easily forgotten treatments.

How often do we administer aspirin early to patients with heart attacks?
How often we provide patients with congestive heart failure information to help them stop smoking?
How often do we provide pneumococcal immunization to patients with pneumonia?
How often do we raise the head of the bed at least 30 degrees for patients who are on a ventilator in the ICU?
How often do patients with overwhelming infections get all the treatments they need?
How often do we closely control the blood sugar of patients who are in intensive care?
How often do we administer Beta Blocker medications before surgery to patients with a history of cardiovascular disease?
How often do we properly insert and care for IV lines that penetrate the central vascular system?
How often do we use the Heparin (anticoagulation) protocol in patients who need it?
How often do our physicians use our preprinted order sets?

Postoperative infection rates
Survival after heart attack, cancer and coronary bypass grafting
Weight loss after bariatric surgery
Returns to the operating room
Surgical site infection rate
Readmission rates after discharge for heart failure
Medication error rate and the index of medication harm
Surgical complication rates

Patient satisfaction is an important gauge of quality in measuring the perception of patients regarding the care and services they receive. St. Cloud Hospital is dedicated to providing excellence in patient services, which result in high levels of patient and family satisfaction. Learn more about Patient Satisfaction in our Quality Scores section.