Thomson Reuters identifies top 10 U.S. health systems from second annual study

Thomson Reuters today released its second annual study identifying the top 10 U.S. health systems based on their clinical performance. They are:

• Advocate Health Care, Oak Brook, IL
• Banner Health, Phoenix, AZ
• Catholic Healthcare Partners, Cincinnati, OH
• Fairview Health Services, Minneapolis, MN
• Kettering Health Network, Dayton, OH
• Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN
• OhioHealth, Columbus, OH
• Scripps Health, San Diego, CA
• Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids, MI
• University Hospitals, Cleveland, OH

Researchers from the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals® program analyzed the quality and efficiency of 255 health systems and found statistically significant differences between top and bottom performers in several key areas. Compared with the poorest performers, the best-performing quintile had 16 percent lower mortality, 18 percent fewer medical complications, and 16 percent fewer patient safety incidents -- even though their patients were sicker and their average hospital stays were significantly shorter.

"The range of results between high- and low-performing systems raises difficult questions about health systems' mission, achievement of objectives, and accountability to their communities and patients," said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters. "By developing health system benchmarks, we can help health system boards and executives grapple with these questions and set higher targets for performance improvement."

All U.S. health systems with two or more short-term, general, non-federal hospitals were assessed for the 100 Top Hospitals: Health System Benchmarks Study.

Researchers looked at eight metrics that gauge clinical quality and efficiency: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, 30-day mortality rate, 30-day readmission rate, adherence to clinical standards of care (evidence-based core measures published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), and HCAHPS patient survey score (part of a national initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to measure the quality of care in hospitals).

The study relied on public data from the 2007 and 2008 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) and the CMS Hospital Compare data sets.

The Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals program has analyzed and reported on the performance of U.S. hospitals since 1993. Today's study is the second that assesses the relative quality and efficiency of inpatient care by health systems as single entities.