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Tool can accurately predict risk of death within one year of hospital admission


June 17, 2015


Has someone you love recently been admitted to the hospital? Would you like to know what their chance of dying is within the next year? If so, this can now be easily calculated using the HOMR (Hospital-patient One-year Mortality Risk) model developed by Dr. Carl van Walraven and colleagues. They recently published a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) validating the HOMR tool in more than 3 million patients in Ontario, Alberta and Boston. “An accurate assessment of risk of death, particularly if that risk is high, could motivate and inform discussions between patients and physicians regarding goals of care,” said Dr. van Walraven. The model could also help hospitals measure and compare performance. Dr. van Walraven was interviewed about this research in the Ottawa Sun.

Co-authors: Carl van Walraven, Finlay A. McAlister, Jeffrey A. Bakal, Steven Hawken, Jacques Donzé

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute


The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and is an affiliated institute of the University of Ottawa, closely associated with its faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences. The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute includes more than 1,700 scientists, clinical investigators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff conducting research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Support our research. Give to the Tender Loving Research campaign.

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Lois Ross
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Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
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loross@ohri.ca