State "Edits" Hospital Incident Reports

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

In increasing numbers the Pennsylvania Health Department has been publicly posting inspection reports on hospitals that leave the public only to guess what prompted the report in the first place.
When asked about the practice, a department spokeswoman said the agency routinely edits hospital incident reports to bring them into compliance with federal requirements.
"The Department of Health continuously evaluates best practices for sharing survey findings on the website to be consistent with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. The language you mention was a part of that effort," Maggi Barton, the agency spokeswoman responded when asked whether information had been deleted from a report on the Geisinger Wyoming Medical Center.
The report dated Feb. 17 states as follows: "It was determined that the allegation was substantiated. The hospital identified the violation on its own and took effective corrective action prior to the investigation," the report states.

Identical language was contained in a March 24 report on the Geisinger Community Medical Center.
"The hospital identified the violation and took effective corrective action on its own," the report states.
A March 15 report on the Fulton County Medical Center states simply that the facility was found to be out of compliance with federal standards for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
A March 16 report on the Moses Taylor Hosptal in Scranton states,"It was determined that the allegation was substantiated. The hospital identified the violation on its own and took effective corrective action prior to the investigation," the report states.
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