National Pay-for-Performance Project Recognizes Quality of North Shore-LIJ Hospitals

GREAT NECK, N.Y., Nov. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nine hospitals of the North Shore-LIJ Health System were recognized with 68 overall awards for their performance in delivering high-quality care in six clinical areas in a voluntary, national pay-for-performance

HQID, in its sixth and final year, is the first national project of its kind designed to determine if economic incentives to hospitals are effective at improving the quality of patient care. Reflecting the performance of the nine hospitals in the delivery of care, CMS also awarded North Shore-LIJ $906,955 in the past year – and nearly $3.7 million during the entire six-year demonstration project.

"As one of the largest healthcare providers in the New York metropolitan area, North Shore-LIJ is proud of the clinical and monetary awards that our nine hospitals received over the course of this six-year demonstration project. It's all part of our effort to drive improvements in quality care and transparency in our hospitals," said Michael J. Dowling, the health system's president and chief executive officer. "While the recognition and economic incentives are substantial, as healthcare providers we are motivated by making sure that patient care continues to improve. The evidence of the care delivered is the true reward."

Through the HQID project, Premier collects a set of more than 30 evidence-based clinical quality measures from the 216 hospitals across the country. The model includes financial incentives for 20 percent of hospitals in each of six clinical areas: acute myocardial infarction (AMI); coronary artery bypass graft (CABG); heart failure (HF); pneumonia (PN); hip and knee replacement (HK) and the surgical care improvement project (SCIP).

Recognized as top performers, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NSUH was among eight hospitals nationally to receive 10 out of 12 possible awards. Glen Cove and Southside hospitals received nine awards out of 10 possible awards, excluding CABG for which both hospitals were not eligible – Southside's open-heart surgery program opened in February 2011, after the reporting period for HQID. Across the project's six years, the North Shore-LIJ Health System received 213 awards in clinical areas, making it the fourth-highest health system nationwide in terms of overall awards.

In addition, Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) was recognized by Premier as a top performer across the project's six years, receiving 39 awards in clinical areas – one of only two hospitals nationwide with this achievement. SIUH also had the fourth-highest overall monetary award nationwide -- $1,155,885, over the same time period.

For hospitals participating in the HQID project nationally, the average Composite Quality Score (CQS), an aggregate of all process and outcomes measures within each clinical area, improved by 18.6 percent over the project's first six years. Examples of the measures include the proper administering of aspirin, beta blockers and antibiotics; and readmission and mortality rates. According to a Premier analysis of mortality rates at participating hospitals, improvements in quality of care saved an estimated 8,500 heart attacks in patients in six years.

According to Premier, North Shore-LIJ's nine hospitals received the highest overall payment across the project's six years totaling $3,686,973, which is over $1 million more than the second highest health system. Over the course of the six-year HQID project, CMS has awarded more than $60 million to hospitals nationwide.

Of the nine North Shore-LIJ hospitals receiving incentives this year, NSUH earned the highest award of $235,092, followed by SIUH ($161,004), Glen Cove Hospital ($129,258) and Southside Hospital in Bay Shore ($99,248).

Other North Shore-LIJ hospitals participating in the national demonstration project also received pay-for-performance awards: LIJ Medical Center ($57,033), Huntington Hospital ($85,084), Plainview Hospital ($69,723), Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream ($47,866) and Forest Hills Hospital ($21,787).

Additional research by Premier using the Hospital Compare dataset showed that, by September 2009, HQID participants scored on average 5.4 percentage points higher (95.64 percent to 90.2 percent) than non-participants when evaluating 25 common Hospital Compare measures. The hospital quality of care information gathered through the initiative is available to consumers on the Hospital Compare website at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.

For complete information about the HQID project, visit www.qualitydemo.com or Premier healthcare alliance at www.premierinc.com

About North Shore-LIJ Health System
The nation's second-largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system, North Shore-LIJ delivers world-class clinical care throughout the New York metropolitan area, pioneering research at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and a visionary approach to medical education, highlighted by the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. The winner of the National Quality Forum's 2010 National Quality Healthcare Award, North Shore-LIJ cares for people at every stage of life at 15 hospitals, including nationally renowned children's and psychiatric hospitals, long-term care facilities and more than 200 ambulatory care centers throughout the region. As an integrated, academic health system, North Shore-LIJ's 110 residency and fellowship programs serve as a training ground for more than 1,200 future physicians, many of whom hone their skills at North Shore-LIJ's Patient Safety Institute – the nation's largest patient simulation center. As evidence of its commitment to community health and patient-focused research, Feinstein Institute scientists and North Shore-LIJ physicians enroll more than 1,200 people every year in clinical research studies. North Shore-LIJ's owned hospitals and long-term care facilities house about 5,600 beds, employ more than 10,000 nurses and have affiliations with more than 9,000 physicians. Its workforce of about 43,000 is the largest on Long Island and the ninth-largest in New York City. For more information, go to www.northshorelij.com.

SOURCE North Shore-LIJ