IBM Watson Health Announces 100 Top Hospitals

ARMONK, N.Y., March 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM Watson Health™ (NYSE: IBM) today published its 100 Top Hospitals® annual study identifying top–performing hospitals in the U.S. This study spotlights the best–performing hospitals in the U.S. based on a balanced scorecard using publicly available data for clinical, operational, and patient satisfaction metrics. The study is part of IBM Watson Health's commitment to leveraging science and data to advance health and it has been conducted annually since 1993.

Overall, the Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® study found that the top-performing hospitals in the country achieved better risk-adjusted outcomes while maintaining both a lower average cost per patient and higher profit margin than peer group hospitals that were part of the study.

"At a time when research shows that the U.S. spends nearly twice as much on healthcare as other high-income countries, yet has less effective population health outcomes¹, the 100 Top Hospitals are setting a different example by delivering consistently better care at a lower cost," said Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals® program leader at IBM Watson Health.

Kyu Rhee, M.D., M.P.P., vice president and chief health officer at IBM Watson Health, added: "From small community hospitals to major teaching hospitals, these diverse hospitals have demonstrated that quality care, higher patient satisfaction, and operational efficiency can be achieved together. In this era of big data, analytics, transparency, and patient empowerment, it is essential that we learn from these leading hospitals and work to spread their best practices to our entire health system which could translate into over 100K more lives saved, nearly 40K less complications, over 150K fewer readmissions, and over $8 billion in savings."

Following were the key performance measurements on which 100 Top Hospitals showed the most significant average outperformance versus non-winning peer group hospitals (full study results available here):

• Higher Survival Rates: The 100 Top Hospitals winners achieved survival rates that were 24.9 percent higher than those of peer hospitals.
  
  
• Fewer Complications and Infections: Patients at winning hospitals experienced 18.7 percent fewer complications and 19.3 percent fewer healthcare-associated infections than peer group hospitals.
  
  
• Shorter Length of Stay: Winning hospitals had a median severity-adjusted length of stay that was one half-day shorter (0.5) than peers.
  
  
• Shorter Emergency Department Wait Times: Overall, winning hospitals delivered median emergency department wait times that were 17.3 minutes shorter than those of peer group hospitals.
  
  
• Lower Inpatient Expenses: Average inpatient costs per discharge were 11.9 percent lower (a difference of $830 per discharge) at 100 Top Hospitals versus peer group hospitals.
  
  
• Higher Profit Overall Margins: Winning hospitals maintained a median operating profit margin that was 11.9 percentage points higher than peer group hospitals.
  
  
• Higher Patient Satisfaction: Overall hospital experience, as measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), was rated 3 percent higher for winning hospitals than peer group hospitals.

The IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals winners outperformed peer group hospitals within all 10 clinical and operational performance benchmarks evaluated in the study: risk-adjusted inpatient mortality index, risk-adjusted complications index, mean healthcare-associated infection index, mean 30-day risk-adjusted mortality rate, mean 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate, severity-adjusted length of stay, mean emergency department throughput, case mix- and wage-adjusted inpatient expense per discharge, adjusted operating profit margin, and HCAHPS score.

Extrapolating 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:

• More than 103,000 additional lives could be saved;
• More than 38,000 additional patients could be complication-free;
• More than $8.2 billion in inpatient costs could be saved; and
• Approximately 155,000 fewer discharged patients would be readmitted within 30 days.

In addition to the 100 Top Hospitals, the IBM Watson Health study also recognizes the 100 Top Hospitals Everest Award winners. These are hospitals that earned the 100 Top Hospitals designation and also are among the 100 top for rate of improvement during a five-year period. This year, there are 15 Everest Award winners.

To conduct the 100 Top Hospitals study, IBM Watson Health researchers evaluated 3,156 short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals. All research was based on the following public data sets: 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 Illinois Masonic Medical Center – Chicago, IL
Ascension Providence Hospital  – Southfield, MI
Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix – Phoenix, AZ
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center – Los Angeles, CA
Garden City Hospital – Garden City, MI*
Mayo Clinic Hospital – Jacksonville, FL
Mount Sinai Medical Center – Miami Beach, FL
NorthShore University HealthSystem – Evanston, IL
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center – Hartford, CT
Spectrum Health Hospitals – Grand Rapids, MI
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital – Ann Arbor, MI*
St. Luke's University Hospital – Bethlehem – Bethlehem, PA
The Miriam Hospital – Providence, RI
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital – Aurora, CO*
University of Utah Hospital – Salt Lake City, UT

Teaching Hospitals 

Abbott Northwestern Hospital – Minneapolis, MN
Aspirus Wausau Hospital – Wausau, WI
Brandon Regional Hospital – Brandon, FL
BSA Health System – Amarillo, TX
CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System – Texarkana, TX*
Good Samaritan Hospital – Cincinnati, OH
Lakeland Medical Center – St. Joseph, MI
Mercy Hospital St. Louis – St. Louis, MO
Monmouth Medical Center – Long Branch, NJ
Morton Plant Hospital – Clearwater, FL
Mount Carmel St. Ann's – Westerville, OH
Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital – St. Louis Park, MN
Parkview Regional Medical Center – Fort Wayne, IN*
PIH Health Hospital - Whittier – Whittier, CA
Riverside Medical Center – Kankakee, IL
Rose Medical Center – Denver, CO*
Sentara Leigh Hospital – Norfolk, VA*
Sky Ridge Medical Center – Lone Tree, CO
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital – Madison – Madison, WI
St. Luke's Hospital – Cedar Rapids, IA
St. Mark's Hospital – Salt Lake City, UT*
Sycamore Medical Center – Miamisburg, OH
UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital – Fort Collins, CO
Utah Valley Hospital – Provo, UT*
West Penn Hospital – Pittsburgh, PA

Large Community Hospitals 

Advocate Sherman Hospital – Elgin, IL*
Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center – Sun City West, AZ
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Grapevine – Grapevine, TX
Hoag Hospital Newport Beach – Newport Beach, CA
IU Health Bloomington Hospital – Bloomington, IN*
Mease Countryside Hospital – Safety Harbor, FL
Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center – Houston, TX
Mercy Health - Anderson Hospital – Cincinnati, OH
Mercy Health - St. Rita's Medical Center – Lima, OH
Mercy Hospital  – Coon Rapids, MN
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City – Oklahoma City, OK
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital – Winfield, IL
Sarasota Memorial Hospital – Sarasota, FL
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla – La Jolla, CA
St. Clair Hospital – Pittsburgh, PA
St. David's Medical Center – Austin, TX
St. Joseph's Hospital – Tampa, FL*
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth – Fort Worth, TX
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center – Towson, MD
WellStar West Georgia Medical Center – LaGrange, GA

Medium Community Hospitals 

AdventHealth Wesley Chapel – Wesley Chapel, FL
Dupont Hospital – Fort Wayne, IN
East Cooper Medical Center – Mt. Pleasant, SC
East Liverpool City Hospital – East Liverpool, OH*
Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center  – Garden Grove, CA
IU Health North Hospital – Carmel, IN
IU Health West Hospital – Avon, IN
Logan Regional Hospital – Logan, UT
Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital – Katy, TX
Mercy Health - Clermont Hospital – Batavia, OH
Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas – Rogers, AR
Mercy Medical Center – Cedar Rapids, IA
Montclair Hospital Medical Center – Montclair, CA
Mountain View Hospital – Payson, UT
Northwest Medicine Delnor Hospital – Geneva, IL
St. Luke's Anderson Campus – Easton, PA
St. Vincent's Medical Center Clay County – Middleburg, FL
UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies – Loveland, CO
West Valley Medical Center – Caldwell, ID
Wooster Community Hospital – Wooster, OH

Small Community Hospitals 

Alta View Hospital – Sandy, UT
Aurora Medical Center – Two Rivers, WI
Brigham City Community Hospital – Brigham City, UT
Buffalo Hospital – Buffalo, MN
Cedar City Hospital – Cedar City, UT
Hill Country Memorial Hospital – Fredericksburg, TX
Lakeview Hospital – Bountiful, UT
Lone Peak Hospital – Draper, UT
Marshfield Medical Center – Rice Lake, WI
Nanticoke Memorial Hospital – Seaford, DE
Parkview Noble Hospital – Kendallville, IN
Parkview Whitley Hospital – Columbia City, IN*
Piedmont Mountainside Hospital – Jasper, GA
San Dimas Community Hospital – San Dimas, CA
Seton Medical Center Harker Heights – Harker Heights, TX
Southern Tennessee Regional Health System – Lawrenceburg, TN
Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital – Zeeland, MI
St. John Owasso Hospital – Owasso, OK
St. Luke's Hospital - Quakertown – Quakertown, PA
Stillwater Medical Center – Stillwater, OK*

About the IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® Program

The IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals, formerly the Truven Health Analytics 100 Top Hospitals, program uses independent and objective research to analyze 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, part of the IBM Watson Health business. Visit 100tophospitals.com for more information.

About IBM Watson Health

Watson Health is a business unit of IBM that is dedicated to the development and implementation of cognitive and data-driven technologies to advance health. Watson Health technologies are tackling a wide range of the world's biggest health care challenges, including cancer, diabetes, drug discovery and more. Learn more.

CONTACTS
Rachel Ford Hutman
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301-801-5540

¹ https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2674671

SOURCE IBM