Solucient and VISICU are proud to release the 100 Top Hospitals: ICU Benchmarks for Success study.

Introduction

Intensive care units (ICUs) exist in every community. Most hospitals operate an ICU to provide care for their most critically ill patients. But unlike other units of a hospital, the ICU is not devoted to a single disease but treats a variety of illnesses—all of which are life-threatening. Because of the broad cross-section of diseases in ICUs and the severity of the caseload, there have been no previous hospital comparisons done in the field of intensive care, and ICUs remain the last bastion of unmanaged care. And yet this is an area in dire need of examination. Resource utilization is often three times as high in an ICU as it is in other areas of a hospital; current estimates are that up to 25 percent of inpatient costs are centered in the ICU. Moreover, there is a wide range in mortality and complications rates from one hospital to the next, suggesting that variations in care processes for these most acute patients translate into major outcome differences.

To devise methods to compare ICU performance and to set meaningful benchmarks is a formidable and worthwhile challenge. By identifying hospitals that provide high-quality care, operate efficiently, and produce superior financial results, we offer the health care industry a direction for positive change.