Patient Discharge Data at Heart of New System.

• Position: MATERNAL MORBIDITY

A new system classifying severe maternal morbidity--life-threatening complications associated with childbirth--across U.S. hospitals has been developed. The system relies on patient discharge data to compare rates of severe maternal morbidity among different hospitals and groups of patients. The study was led by Stephanie A. Leonard, instructor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Obstetrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine and appears in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

In the U.S., rates of severe maternal morbidity are rising for all women and are worse among racial and ethnic minorities. Researchers studying severe maternal morbidity lack reliable ways to compare rates among groups with different underlying health statuses. According to the study authors, the new scoring system offers an advantage over current approaches, as U.S. patient discharge...