Thomson Reuters Research Identifies Top U.S. Heal...(force for rapid improvement in hospital ...),Health

This study, Chenoweth notes, sets national benchmarks for health system quality and efficiency and extends transparency regarding the performance of healthcare organizations from hospitals to health systems.

All U.S. health systems with two or more short-term, general, non-federal hospitals were assessed. Researchers looked at five metrics that gauge clinical quality and efficiency: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, and adherence to clinical standards of care (evidence-based core measures published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).

The study relied on public data from the 2006 and 2007 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data and the CMS Hospital Compare data sets.

"The development of national benchmarks provides health system boards and executives with an objective assessment of the care they provided to their communities and patients, relative to others across the nation," Chenoweth said. "This provides the basis for a serious discussion about the role and responsibility of the health system in assuring quality and efficiency to each community in which a hospital carries the health system brand."

Researchers from the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals program have analyzed and reported on the performance of individual hospitals since 1993. Today's study marks the first time they have assessed the relative quality and efficiency of inpatient care by health systems as single entities.

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