Evanston, IL, November 27, 2000 — The 100 Top Orthopedic Hospitals and teaching hospitals produce better patient outcomes than their peers and are approximately 20 percent more likely to discharge elderly patients home after hospital stays rather than institutionalize them.

In the study "100 Top Hospitals^TM: Orthopedic Benchmarks for Success," performed by the HCIA-Sachs Institute and sponsored by the Human Motion Institute^SM, the 100 Top Orthopedic Hospitals, as well as teaching hospitals overall, show lower orthopedic-related complications and mortality rates, lower lengths-of stay, and lower costs, despite the fact they treat more complex cases. The study also identifies the 100 best-performing hospitals for orthopedic services in 2000.

"The obvious goal of treatment is to help patients return to a normal life to the greatest extent possible. The study shows that 100 Top Orthopedic Hospitals are enabling significantly more orthopedic patients to return home rather than be institutionalized," says study director Jean Chenoweth, executive director of the HCIA-Sachs Institute. "And these hospitals also are demonstrating lower complications rates and lower costs overall."

Top Hospitals Discharge Home

"100 Top Hospitals: Orthopedic Benchmarks for Success" uses Medicare data and compares performance on four established, technical procedures:

• Total knee replacement; 

• Total hip replacement; 

• Partial hip replacement; and 

• Intertrochanteric fracture.

Among the findings:

• Benchmark teaching hospitals with orthopedic residency programs are most likely to release orthopedic patients home after hospitalization, rather than discharging them to a skilled nursing- or other short-term care facility.

• Two-thirds of women-compared to just half of the men-treated for the procedures studied remain institutionalized after hospital stays. Women are more likely to be discharged to a skilled nursing- or other short-term care facility. One potential reason men are more likely to be discharged home: women tend to outlive men, implying that more elderly men may have a spouse at home to provide support.

• Hospitals with the largest orthopedic programs have the lowest death and complications rates.

The methodology used to calculate "100 Top Hospitals: Orthopedic Benchmarks for Success" is based on a computerized review and analysis of more than 700,000 Medicare orthopedic cases, using the following clinical and financial measures:

1. Risk-adjusted mortality rates; 

2. Risk-adjusted complications rates; 

3. Count of unique patients receiving orthopedic services; 

4. Average length of stay at hospital, adjusted for illness; 

5. Cost per patient, adjusted for illness severity and local wage differences; and 

6. Percentage of patients who came from and were discharged from home.

The 100 Top Hospitals studies provide the benchmarks for performance set by the nation's health care institutions. The objective of the program is to establish annual targets of performance and monitor emerging trends in benchmark information while continually enhancing the methodologies by which health care institutions are evaluated.

Sponsor of the orthopedic benchmark study, Human Motion Institute,^SM is the fastest growing orthopedic product line development company in the world. HMI's exclusive program design has enabled hospitals nationally to create orthopedic programs of distinction.

"The Human Motion Institute is proud to sponsor the HCIA-Sachs Institute study. We congratulate the organizations recognized for their work in improving patient care," says Brian Shivler, president of Human Motion Institute, Canonsburg, PA. "Our commitment is to continuously enhance the quality of orthopedic care. The measurement and evaluation of key data is a vital component of the process."

The HCIA-Sachs Institute is the research and education division of HCIA-Sachs. The Institute is dedicated to the improvement of the health care industry through improved information. The Institute produces 100 Top Hospitals and Clinical Research Program studies, and publishes white papers-authoritative research reports, often clinical or financial-that explore the impact of legislation, new technologies, and clinical breakthrough on the health care industry. Clinical Research Program studies are dedicated to identifying the treatment patterns of 100 Top Hospitals award winners.

HCIA-Sachs is headquartered in Evanston, Ill. and leads the health care industry in providing payers, providers, employers, consultants, and pharmaceutical companies with relevant strategic intelligence. HCIA-Sachs supplies clients with effective and innovative solutions for growing revenue, benchmarking and measuring results, and understanding consumers. HCIA-Sachs' solutions are e-enabled to streamline decision making. HCIA-Sachs is a HIPAA compliant company.

A list of the 100 Top Hospitals™: Orthopedic Benchmarks for Success study and a summary of the report are available via the Internet at http://www.100TopHospitals.com.  Copies of the study can be purchased by calling HCIA-Sachs Institute Publications at (800) 568-3282.   For media copies, please follow the media link on the Web site's home page or contact Kerry Lydon-Minton.

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