Thomson Reuters on Tuesday released its third annual study identifying the 10 top U.S. health systems based on quality of care, efficiency, and patient satisfaction.
"This year, the 10 Top Health Systems set a new standard for high quality of care across all of the communities they serve," Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters, said in a statement "These systems are positioned to continue performing well as we move further into the era of healthcare reform."
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The 10 were selected from among 285 U.S. health systems based on their performance in eight areas:
- in-hospital mortality
- medical complications
- patient safety
- severity-adjusted average length of stay
- 30-day post-discharge mortality rate
- 30-day post discharge readmission rate for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia
- adherence to clinical standards of care
- Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems patient survey score
Thomson Reuters researchers evaluated health systems with at least two short-term, general, acute care hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of patients. Researchers used public data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) dataset and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare datasets.
Listed alphabetically, the Top 10 Health Systems are:
1. Advocate Health Care - Oak Brook, IL
2. Cape Cod Healthcare - Hyannis, MA
3. CareGroup Healthcare System - Boston, MA
4. Kettering Health Network - Dayton, OH
5. Maury Regional Healthcare System - Columbia, TN
6. Mayo Foundation - Rochester, MN
7. NorthShore University HealthSystem - Evanston, IL
8. OhioHealth - Columbus, OH
9. Partners Healthcare - Boston, MA
The study has been conducted annually since 2009. Advocate Health Care, Kettering Health Network and OhioHealth have appeared on the list three times. This is the second year that Mayo Foundation and Spectrum Health have been named.
Compared with their peers, the 10 top health systems have better short- and long-term survival rates and fewer patient complications; follow accepted care protocols and patient safety standards more closely; have an average length of stay that is more than half a day shorter; and their patients report a better overall hospital experience, the study shows.
In March, Thomson Reuters unveiled its annual list of top 100 hospitalsand separately, the top community hospitals.
Margaret Dick Tocknell is a reporter/editor with HealthLeaders Media.
