Dive Brief:
- IBM Watson Health released its annual study of 100 Top Hospitals based on organizational performance.
- The study — formerly known as Truven Health Analytics 100 Top Hospitals — ranks hospitals using clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics and data.
- Hospitals on the IBM list outperformed peers on key performance measures such as better survival rates, fewer complications and shorter length of stay.
Dive Insight:
Winning hospitals’ key strengths versus their peers include:
- 26% better survival rates;
- 13.4% fewer complications and18.7 fewer hospital-acquired infections;
- Half day shorter severity-adjusted length of stay;
- 17 minute shorter emergency department wait times;
- 7% — or $460 — lower average inpatient cost per discharge;
- 10.6% higher median operating profit margin; and
- 3.4% higher HCAHPS score.
Providing the same top level of care for all Medicare inpatients would save an additional 102,000 lives, spare more than 43,000 patients the setback of complications and result in 200,000 fewer 30-day readmissions, according to IBM. The savings to Medicare: more than $4.4 billion in inpatient costs.
“The country’s best hospitals have proven that an unrelenting focus on quality, supported by constant measurement against peer performance benchmarks, can drive improved outcomes while reducing costs and growing profit margins,” Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president of 100 Top Hospitals Programs at IBM Watson Health, said in a statement.
The top five hospitals in the “Major Teaching Hospital” category are Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, Banner – University Medical Center South in Tucson, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach.
Aspirus Wausau Hospital in Wisconsin took the top honors for “Teaching Hospitals.” The No. 1 large, medium and small community hospitals are Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill., Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Round Rock, Texas, and Cedar City Hospital in Utah, respectively.
The study follows Healthgrades release of its America’s 50 and 100 Best Hospitals for 2018, which found higher performance among winners in treating conditions that account for more than 80% of deaths due to heart attack, pneumonia, stroke and other major causes of mortality.
Healthgrades identified four common themes among top-performing hospitals: patient-centered care, evidence-based decisionmaking, a collaborative culture and patient engagement.
While such lists can shine due recognition on successful hospitals, they are not without critics. Last year, Saint Anthony Hospital in Chicago sued the Leapfrog group for defamation after its safety grade dropped from A to C.