Variation in adherence to individual quality indicators by quality quartiles*
| Eligible patients (% received) | Overall (N=183 334) | Lowest quality (n=57 099) | Quartile 2 (n=53 697) | Quartile 3 (n=39 596) | Highest quality (n=32 942) |
| Assessment of left ventricular function | |||||
| QI1: chest X-ray | 137 449 (40.33) | 34 262 (15.48) | 40 986 (37.97) | 31 426 (46.11) | 30 775 (65.24) |
| QI2: echocardiography | 183 334 (54.98) | 56 981 (28.41) | 53 815 (57.06) | 39 596 (65.89) | 32 942 (84.44) |
| QI3: NYHA classification | 183 334 (54.56) | 56 981 (17.33) | 53 815 (58.17) | 39 596 (72.85) | 32 942 (91.06) |
| Drug prescription within 24 hours of admission | |||||
| QI4: diuretic and potassium | 125 942 (58.80) | 33 247 (21.90) | 38 110 (60.37) | 28 560 (70.56) | 26 025 (90.73) |
| QI5: ACEI/ARB | 46 767 (85.53) | 6337 (86.70) | 15 434 (79.27) | 13 566 (88.12) | 11 430 (90.28) |
| QI6: β-blockers | 67 734 (75.94) | 7858 (70.35) | 23 029 (71.23) | 17 642 (78.58) | 19 205 (81.44) |
| QI7: aldosterone antagonists | 64 858 (92.82) | 5400 (92.39) | 18 169 (90.56) | 17 789 (92.20) | 23 500 (95.13) |
| Drug prescription during hospitalisation | |||||
| QI8: diuretic and potassium | 119 640 (93.46) | 14 483 (91.69) | 38 907 (90.07) | 34 605 (95.58) | 31 645 (96.12) |
| QI9: ACEI/ARB | 126 978 (71.25) | 20 348 (70.23) | 41 483 (66.60) | 34 201 (72.56) | 30 946 (76.70) |
| QI10: β-blockers | 113 923 (66.36) | 13 496 (67.75) | 37 498 (63.26) | 32 671 (64.87) | 30 258 (71.19) |
| QI11: aldosterone antagonists | 116 035 (86.43) | 13 722 (84.66) | 37 918 (80.67) | 33 182 (89.67) | 31 213 (90.76) |
| Health education | |||||
| QI12: assessment for patient | 183 334 (59.25) | 56 981 (20.76) | 53 815 (61.90) | 39 596 (81.74) | 32 942 (94.47) |
| QI13: hospitalisation and discharge instructions | 183 334 (57.78) | 56 981 (20.30) | 53 815 (59.97) | 39 596 (79.28) | 32 942 (93.21) |
| QI14: risk assessment | 183 334 (37.10) | 56 981 (9.70) | 53 815 (35.55) | 39 596 (45.41) | 32 942 (77.03) |
*Hospitals were divided into equal quartiles according to hospital process composite performance. The first quartile was regarded as the lowest quality group and the fourth quartile was regarded as the highest quality group. For detailed definitions of all QIs, refer to the ‘Selection of QIs and outcomes’ section.
ACEI, ACE inhibitors; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker; NYHA, New York Heart Association; QI, quality indicators.