“The hospital industry’s ongoing transition from fee-for-service to value-based care appears to be bearing some positive results for both patients and payers,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president at Truven Health Analytics. “The magnitude of improvement we’ve observed over the last five years is greater than any other five-year period we’ve tracked. On top of that, this year’s winners have reached new highs in performance in comparison to peers across the country, which suggests that improvement in value from hospitals is likely to continue.”
Nationwide Hospital Benchmarks
The 100 Top Hospitals study calculates five-year changes in performance on an annual basis. This directional performance data provides a granular look at where U.S. hospitals are showing the most significant improvement, and where performance has plateaued or declined. Some of the most noteworthy trends in overall hospital performance include:
- Significantly Improved 30-Day Readmission Rates: One of the most closely watched quality metrics, 30-day readmission rates, has shown significant improvement in 52 percent of U.S. hospitals over the last five years. That rate has stayed flat in 48 percent of hospitals and worsened in just 0.1 percent of hospitals.
- Significantly Improved Mortality Index: The risk-adjusted mortality showed significant improvement in 21 percent of U.S. hospitals over the study period, remained steady in 79 percent of hospitals, while only 0.1 percent of hospitals saw an increase in mortality.
- Shorter Average Length of Stay: The severity-adjusted average length of stay improved in 18 percent of U.S. hospitals over the same time period. That rate held steady in 76 percent of hospitals and worsened in six percent of hospitals.
- Flat Inpatient Expenses: The average cost of treating an inpatient over the five-year study period improved in two percent of U.S. hospitals, held flat in 79 percent of hospitals, and worsened in 19 percent of hospitals.
100 Top Hospitals Performance vs. Peer Benchmarks
The Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals winners’ performance and improvement substantially exceeds that of peers, resulting higher national benchmarks than the previous year. This year’s Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals award winners saw mortality index rates that were 23 percent better than peer group hospitals and complications index rates that were 17 percent better than peer group hospitals. They achieved this while also incurring inpatient expenses that were nine percent lower than their peers.
Based on the results of this year’s study, if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities:
- Nearly than 89,000 additional lives could be saved;
- Over 61,000 additional patients could be complication free;
- Over $5.6 billion in inpatient costs could be saved;
- The average patient stay would decrease by half a day;
- Over 300,000 fewer discharged patients would be readmitted within 30 days;
- Patients would spend nine minutes less in hospital emergency departments per visit.
If the same standards were applied to all inpatient care, the impact would be even greater.
The Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals is the most comprehensive, academically driven study of its kind. It evaluates clinical and operational performance in 11 areas, addressing: inpatient mortality; 30-day mortality rate; complications; core measures; 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate; severity-adjusted average length of stay; mean emergency room throughput; inpatient expense per discharge; Medicare spend per beneficiary; adjusted operating profit margin; and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score (patient rating of overall hospital performance). The study has been conducted annually since 1993.
For the ninth year, Truven Health Analytics is also recognizing the 100 Top Hospitals Everest Award winners — those hospitals among the 100 winners that delivered the greatest rate of improvement over five years. This year, there are 10 Everest Award winners.
To conduct the 100 Top Hospitals study, Truven Health researchers evaluated 2,740 short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals. They used public information — Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) data, and core measures and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website. Hospitals do not apply for awards, and winners do not pay to market this honor.
For more information, visit www.100tophospitals.com.
Here are the winning hospitals, by category, with asterisks indicating the Everest Award winners:
Major Teaching Hospitals
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital – Park Ridge, IL
Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville – Jacksonville, FL*
Beaumont Hospital – Royal Oak – Royal Oak, MI*
Emory University Hospital – Atlanta, GA
Houston Methodist Hospital – Houston, TX
NorthShore University HealthSystem – Evanston, IL
Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Chicago, IL
Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans, LA
OhioHealth Doctors Hospital – Columbus, OH
Providence – Providence Park Hospital – Southfield, MI
SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – St. Louis, MO
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital – Ann Arbor, MI*
St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem – Bethlehem, PA
University of Colorado Hospital – Aurora, CO
University of Utah Health Care – Salt Lake City, UT
Teaching Hospitals
Adventist Medical Center Hinsdale – Hinsdale, IL
Aspirus Wausau Hospital – Wausau, WI
Beaumont Hospital – Grosse Pointe – Grosse Pointe, MI*
Bethesda North Hospital – Cincinnati, OH
Billings Clinic Hospital – Billings, MT
BSA Health System – Amarillo, TX
Franciscan Health Indianapolis – Indianapolis, IN
IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital – Muncie, IN
Kendall Regional Medical Center – Miami, FL
Lancaster General Hospital – Lancaster, PA
LDS Hospital – Salt Lake City, UT
Mercy Health Saint Mary’s – Grand Rapids, MI
Mercy Hospital St. Louis – St. Louis, MO
Newton-Wellesley Hospital – Newton, MA
Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital – St. Louis Park, MN*
Parkview Regional Medical Center – Fort Wayne , IN
Poudre Valley Hospital – Fort Collins, CO
Riverside Medical Center – Kankakee, IL
Rose Medical Center – Denver, CO
Sentara Leigh Hospital – Norfolk, VA
St. Cloud Hospital – St. Cloud, MN
St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center – Boise, ID
St. Mary’s Hospital – Madison, WI
St. Vincent Healthcare – Billings, MT
The Christ Hospital Health Network – Cincinnati, OH
Large Community Hospitals
Advocate Condell Medical Center – Libertyville, IL
Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center – Medford, OR
Chandler Regional Medical Center – Chandler, AZ
Chester County Hospital – West Chester, PA
CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital Tyler – Tyler, TX
EvergreenHealth Kirkland – Kirkland, WA
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital – Pinehurst, NC
Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center – Daytona Beach, FL
Henrico Doctors’ Hospital – Richmond, VA
Logan Regional Hospital – Logan, UT
Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center – Houston, TX
Mercy Hospital – Coon Rapids, MN
Mosaic Life Care – Saint Joseph, MO*
North Florida Regional Medical Center – Gainesville, FL
Roper Hospital – Charleston, SC
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla – La Jolla, CA
St. David’s Medical Center – Austin, TX
St. Francis Downtown – Greenville, SC
WellStar West Georgia Medical Center – LaGrange, GA
West Florida Hospital – Pensacola, FL
Medium Community Hospitals
American Fork Hospital – American Fork, UT
Baptist Medical Center Beaches – Jacksonville Beach, FL*
Baylor Scott & White Healthcare – Round Rock – Round Rock, TX
Blanchard Valley Hospital – Findlay, OH
Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital – Charleston, SC
Chino Valley Medical Center – Chino, CA
Clermont Hospital – Batavia, OH
Dupont Hospital – Fort Wayne, IN
Fairview Park Hospital – Dublin, GA
Holland Hospital – Holland, MI
Inova Fair Oaks Hospital – Fairfax, VA
Medical Center of the Rockies – Loveland, CO
Mercy Medical Center – Cedar Rapids, IA
Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge – Baton Rouge, LA*
Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Nampa – Nampa, ID
Sherman Oaks Hospital – Sherman Oaks, CA
St. Vincent Carmel Hospital – Carmel, IN
Sycamore Medical Center – Miamisburg, OH
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth – Fort Worth, TX
West Valley Medical Center – Caldwell, ID
Small Community Hospitals
Alta View Hospital – Sandy, UT
Aurora Medical Center – Two Rivers, WI
Aurora Medical Center – Oshkosh, WI
Fairview Northland Medical Center – Princeton, MN
Franklin Woods Community Hospital – Johnson City, TN
Hawkins County Memorial Hospital – Rogersville, TN*
Henry Community Health – New Castle, IN
Lakeview Hospital – Bountiful, UT
Lakeview Hospital – Stillwater, MN
Lakeview Medical Center – Rice Lake, WI
Oaklawn Hospital – Marshall, MI
OSF Saint James – John W. Albrecht Medical Center – Pontiac, IL
Parkview Huntington Hospital – Huntington, IN
Spectrum Health United Hospital – Greenville, MI
Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital – Zeeland, MI
St. John Owasso Hospital – Owasso, OK
St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital – Howell, MI*
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance – Fort Worth, TX
Waynesboro Hospital – Waynesboro, PA
Yampa Valley Medical Center – Steamboat Springs, CO
About the Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals® Program
Since 1993, the Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals program has used independent and objective research to guide hospital and health system performance. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor, or pay to promote their award. Award-winning hospitals and health systems prove that better care is possible and provide an example for other organizations to follow across the industry. The 100 Top Hospitals award winners demonstrate top performance on both how patients are cared for under clinical measures and how the hospital performs as an efficient business. 100 Top Hospitals is a registered trademark of Truven Health Analytics. Visit 100tophospitals.com for more information.
About Truven Health Analytics, Part of the IBM Watson Health Business
Truven Health Analytics®, part of the IBM Watson Health™ business, provides market-leading performance improvement solutions built on data integrity, advanced analytics and domain expertise. For more than 40 years, our insights and solutions have been providing hospitals and clinicians, employers and health plans, state and federal government agencies, life sciences companies and policymakers, the facts they need to make confident decisions that directly affect the health and well-being of people and organizations in the US and around the world. The company was acquired by IBM in 2016 to help form a new business, Watson Health. Watson Health aspires to improve lives and give hope by delivering innovation to address the world’s most pressing health challenges through data and cognitive insights.
Truven Health Analytics owns some of the most trusted brands in healthcare, such as MarketScan®, 100 Top Hospitals®, Advantage Suite®, Micromedex®, Simpler ® and ActionOI ®. Truven Health has its principal offices in Ann Arbor, MI, Chicago, IL and Denver, CO.
For more information, visit www.truvenhealth.com
CONTACTS
Ariana Nikitas
anikitas@us.ibm.com
312.533.3437
Brian Erni
For Truven Health Analytics
J. Roderick, Inc. Public Relations
brian@jroderick.com
631.584.2200
SOURCE Truven Health Analytics
by 
On June 18, 2007 the Charleston Fire Department lost 9 of its own in the Sofa Super Store Fire. This had been the single deadliest fire incident since 9/11 where immediately after, the families, Charleston Firefighters, Citizens, and the fire service mourned. The Charleston Fire Department would never be the same and committing to never allowing this to happen again, epic changes ensued and to this day continue. We also believe the fire service has changed because of the fire and we pray that it’s never repeated.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.
By Mark A. Leon
