Pneumonia is a leading cause of death in the United States. Treatment with the right antibiotics may reduce deaths from pneumonia. While some patients have higher risks than others, and some die from causes unrelated to the pneumonia which brought them to the hospital, some complications leading to death within 30 days may be preventable. A lower rate may indicate that a hospital provides a higher level of patient care.

About this measure

Mortality rate is the statistical measure of the number of people who die within a period of time. The pneumonia mortality rate below is the percent of patients with pneumonia who died within 30 days of admission to the hospital.

In this case, a lower number is better.