Pattie A. Clay has lowest patient charge

among hospitals in its five-county area

      Skyrocketing health-care costs, including those of hospitals and health insurance providers, have Americans reeling.

      In 2007, it’s anticipated that $7,498 will be spent on every man,  woman and child in the United States for health services.  According to Health Affairs, a leading health policy journal, that total represents 20 percent of all spending.  By 2016, the publication projects costs to increase to $12,782.

      For Madison Countians, however, there is a beacon of hope.  Recently reported statistics show that Richmond’s Pattie A. Clay (PAC) Regional Medical Center has the lowest cost per discharged patient among six hospitals that serve the same geographical area.

      Figures, based on 19 Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG), show that PAC has lower patient charges than Berea Hospital and four medical facilities in Lexington – the University of Kentucky, St. Joseph, St. Joseph East and Central Baptist.  The information is provided by Data Advantage Corporation in the 15^th addition of its “Low Charge 100, The Nation’s Benchmark Hospitals.”

      Data Advantage, a Louisville-based healthcare information company, uses the DRG – a system for classifying hospital cases – for its data development.  The DRG comparisons for Pattie A. Clay and the other five health-care facilities cover such medical categories as Heart Failure and Shock, Simple Pneumonia and Pleurisy, Intracranial Hemorrhage or Cerebral Infarction, Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections, and Major Joint and Limb Reattachment Procedures, among others.  The DRG categories are common to the hospitals compared.

      A hospital must have at least 50 discharges to be reported by Data

Advantage Corporation. The data shows that PAC has significantly lower charges compared to the surrounding hospitals.

      “Quality of care always is at the forefront of decisions at Pattie A. Clay instead of making cost the deciding factor,” Robert Hudson, president and chief executive officer, emphasized.  “But what really allows us to maintain that high quality care at reasonable costs and charges is good teamwork, the manner in which the hospital and medical staffs work together.

      “Also, material management works closely with those staffs to acquire high quality supplies at very reasonable prices.”  

      Pattie A. Clay, a 105-bed acute care facility, provides a comprehensive hospital services program and is constantly upgrading and adding new services and technology.  Some recent improvements include an advanced Computed Tomography (CT) scanner, a state-of-the-art urological imaging system, and a new cardiac catheterization x-ray lab.  A major renovation now houses new angiography equipment and spinal surgery is now available for adults and children.

      PAC serves some 100,000 in- and out-patients per year and draws patients from Jackson, Estill, Rockcastle and Garrard Counties in addition to Madison.  The medical center is accredited by two nationally recognized programs, and is the only hospital in the region to accept hospice patients.

Average Charge Per Discharge Comparison

  DRG Description               PAC    Berea   UK      St. Jos.    St. Jos. E.   Central  Bapt.

Heart Failure, Shock              $  8,666      8,899  12,161   13,113          13,770               14,398

Pneumonia, Pleurisy                 

Chronic Obstructive.                  8,657    10,526   12,811   11,583          12,788               13,244

Pulmonary Disease                    8,475    10,302   11,142   10,315           10,621               11,221

Maj. Joint, Limb Reattachm.
Procedure, lower extremity     23,623      N/A      30,857   27,812            28,795               31,256

Esophagitis, Gastrent, Misc.
Digest Disorders                       7,108    11,303   11,345   11,073             12,210               11,095

Septicemia                              11,431     17,344   23,756   1,9823             19,666               21,856

Intracranial Hemorrhage or
Cerebral Infarction                    9,046    12,357   17,670   15,861              13,388               16,551

G.I. Hemorrhage                     10,384       9,709  16,096   11,810              11,749               11,718

Nutritional, Misc. Metabolic
Disorders                                  9,218      8,126  11,179     9,738              10,506               10,421

Kidney, Urinary Tract Infect.     8,622    10,951   12,469   10,339              10,779               12,432

Renal Failure                             9,885    10,906   15,553   14,717              16,077               13,662

Cardiac Arrhythmia,
Conduction Disorders                8,576      9,928    9,790    9,031               13,048               10,478

Respiratory Infections,
Inflammations                         12,269     18,306   22,991   16,279               15,042               18,754

Circulatory Disorders,

W AMI, Major Comp.             17,937     N/A      21,720   20,074               21,272               18,764

Hip, Femur Procedures,
Except major joint                    18,442     N/A      35,532   25,728               20,746               20,942

Pulmonary Edema,
Respiratory Failure                  12,730     15,693   N/A      17,723               19,871               15,744

Cellulitis                                    6,259      9,675  11,694   11,163               10,089               12,394

Respiratory System Diag.
w/Ventilator Support                 27,751    N/A      43,469   39,873               34,089               43,596

Peripheral Vascular
Disorders                                 10,545      8,537  17,196   13,588               - - - -                14,088

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