DOCTORS HOSPITAL – CORAL GABLES REVIEW
Updated April 2021
Doctors Hospital is located in Coral Gables and was established in 1949. It is part of the Baptist HealthCare and provides general and specialized services, including Orthopedics, Cardiac care, general surgery, and robotic and minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.
Doctors Hospital is home to the Miami Heat Sports Medicine Center. The hospital has recently added a new state-of-the-art intensive care unit.
Doctors Hospital has been recognized as a Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence.
US NEWS
Overview of Doctors Hospital
Regional Rankings : #11 in Florida and #4 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale. Recognized in Southern Florida.
Doctors Hospital in Coral Gables is rated high-performing in 3 adult specialties and 4 procedures/conditions. It is a teaching hospital.
Rankings and Ratings of Doctors Hospital
- Cancer
- National rank: Not ranked
- Overall score: Not available
- Conditions/procedures applicable to cancer
- Colon Cancer Surgery: Not rated
- Lung Cancer Surgery: 3/5 (Average score)
- Cardiology and Heart Surgery
- National rank: Not ranked
- Overall score: Not available
- Conditions/procedures applicable to cardiology and heart surgery:
- Heart failure: 5/5 (High performing)
- Orthopedics
- National rank: Not ranked
- Overall score: 45.7/100
- Conditions/procedures applicable to orthopedics
- Hip replacement: 3/5 (Average)
- Knee replacement: 3/5 (Average)
- Pulmonology
- National rank: Not ranked
- Overall score: 52.9/100
- Conditions/procedures applicable to pulmonology
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: 5/5 (High performing)
Patient Experience at Baptist Hospital of Miami
Scores are based on surveys taken from Doctors Hospital’s inpatients inquiring about the different aspects of their stay after they were discharged.
- Satisfaction with the Hospital overall: 4/5
- Willingness to recommend: 4/5
- Satisfaction with doctors’ communications: 4/5
- Satisfaction with nurses’ communications: 3/5
- Satisfaction with efforts to prevent medication harm: 2/5
- Satisfaction with quality of discharge information: 3/5
- Satisfaction with involvement in recovery: 4/5
- Satisfaction with staff responsiveness: 3/5
- Satisfaction with hospital room cleanliness: 4/5
- Satisfaction with noise volume: 3/5
The hospital fared average on inpatient surveys. It scored 3 out of 5.
Doctors Hospital continues its long tradition as one of the most reputable hospitals in South Florida. The hospital is ranked regionally.
Leapfrog General Safety Rating
The latest Leapfrog Hospital Safety grade for Doctors Hospital is an “A” for fall of 2020.
The Leapfrog group rates Doctors Hospital in the following categories:
Infections
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MRSA Infection
Staph bacteria are common in hospitals, but MRSA is a type of staph that cannot be killed by many antibiotics. It is found in bed linens or medical equipment and can be spread if healthcare providers do not properly wash their hands between patients.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 0.000
- Best hospital score: 0.000
- Average hospital score: 0.791
- Worst hospital score: 2.863
Doctors Hospital performed best as no infections were reported.
-
C. Diff Infection
C. Diff is a bacterium that causes diarrhea, loss of appetite, fever, and abdominal pain. C. Diff occurs in patients taking antibiotics or who have recently taken them. Like MRSA, C. Diff. Is spread through contaminated equipment or healthcare providers not washing hands properly between patients.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 0.993
- Best hospital score: 0.000
- Average hospital score: 0.583
- Worst hospital score: 1.737
Doctors Hospital performed worse than average in this category.
Problems with Surgery
-
Dangerous objects left in patients’ bodies
This problem does not occur often, but if it does, it can be extremely dangerous. Most of the times, the object left in patients’ body is a surgical sponge.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 0.000
- Best hospital score: 0.000
- Average hospital score: 0.017
- Worst hospital score: 0.354
Doctors Hospital did not report any cases of dangerous objects being left behind in patients’ bodies.
-
Surgical wounds split open
A surgical wound splitting open is very painful and places a patient at risk of infection.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 0.90
- Best hospital score: 0.67
- Average hospital score: 0.91
- Worst hospital score: 1.20
Doctors Hospital performed little better than average.
Practices to Prevent Errors
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Doctors’ order medication through a computer
Hospitals use Computerized Physicians Order Entry (CPOE) systems to order medications for patients in the hospital instead of writing prescriptions by hand. CPOE systems help to reduce medication errors in hospitals.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 100
- Best hospital score: 100
- Average hospital score: 83.56
- Worst hospital score: 5
Doctors Hospital performed best in the category with no errors reported.
-
Safe medication administration
Using barcodes on medications, nurses scan the medications and then the patient’s wrist bracelet to make sure the patient is receiving the right medications. Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA) reduce the risk of a nurse accidentally giving the wrong medication to a patient.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 100
- Best hospital score: 100
- Average hospital score: 83.44
- Worst hospital score: 5
Doctors Hospital performed best in this category.
Safety Problems
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Dangerous bedsores
Bedsores are wounds on the skin that form when a patient lays or sits in one position for too long without being moved. They can cause severe pain and serious infections.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 1.38
- Best hospital score: 0.03
- Average hospital score: 0.58
- Worst hospital score: 2.78
Doctors Hospital performed poorly in this category. Bed sores acquired in the Hospital were almost three times greater than average.
-
Patient falls and injuries
Falls can occur when patients who really can’t walk, try getting out of bed. Falls can result in longer spells in the hospital and can also result in permanent disability.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 0.282
- Best hospital score: 0.000
- Average hospital score: 0.432
- Worst hospital score: 1.716
Doctors Hospital performed better than average in this category.
Doctors, Nurses, and Hospital Staff
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Effective leadership to prevent errors
Errors become much common if hospital leaders do not make patient safety a priority. Leaders must make sure money is properly allotted towards enhancing safety measures.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 120
- Best hospital score: 120
- Average hospital score: 117.31
- Worst hospital score: 9.23
Doctors Hospital performed best in this category.
-
Enough qualified nurses
Patients receive most of their care from nurses and not doctors. If there is a shortage of qualified nurses, patients might face more complications, and longer stays in the hospital.
- Doctors Hospital’s score: 100
- Best hospital score: 100
- Average hospital score: 98.37
- Worst hospital score: 17.65
Doctors Hospital performed best in this category.
Leapfrog has given better than average ratings to Doctors Hospital. The hospital received overall good ratings, but fared poorly at safety ratings concerning dangerous bed sores acquired in the hospital.
Healthgrades
Healthgrades has not chosen Doctors Hospital for any awards this year.
Safety Ratings
Two ratings were worse than expected:
- Death in procedures where mortality in usually very low
- Catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in the hospital
Ten ratings were as expected.
No cases relating to foreign objects being left behind in the body during a surgery or procedure were reported at the hospital.
Patient Experience
- Patient Ratings
- 75% patients gave a rating of 9 or 10. (6% higher than national average).
- 79% said they would definitely recommend. (9% higher than the national average).
- Care Team Ratings
- Communication with Doctors
84% of patients said that doctors always listened to them and explained things well. (3% higher than the national average of 81%) - Communication with Nurses
81% of patients said that nurses always listened to them and explained things well. (3% higher than the national average of 78%) - Communication about Medicines
62% of patients said that staff members always explained medicines before they were given to them. (1% lower than the national average of 63%). - Discharge Information
86% of patients were given information about recovering at home. (2% higher than the national average of 84%). - Care Transition
62% of the patients said that they understood their care needs when they left the hospital. (9% higher than the national average of 53%). - Responsiveness of Hospital
65% of patients said they always received help quickly from hospital staff. (1% lower than the national average of 66%).
- Communication with Doctors
- Facility Report
- Quietness
65% of patients said that their rooms and the area around it were always quiet at night. (5% higher than national average of 60%). - Cleanliness
75% of patients said that their rooms and bathrooms were always kept clean. (2% higher than the national average of 73%).
- Quietness
Although Doctors Hospital did not win any awards from Healthgrades, it continues to receive good ratings thanks to the Hospital’s solid performance in most surveys.
If you believe that inadequate care or negligence on the part of the medical staff at Doctors Hospital has negatively affected you or your loved one, it is important to speak to an experienced medical malpractice attorney. For more information on your legal options, contact our office today.
