TOP NATIONAL HOSPITALS

The Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals® study uses objective research and independent public data to recognize the best U.S. hospitals. Hospitals do not apply and winners do not pay to market this honor.

Our annual study is unique in that it evaluates hospitals on measures of overall organization performance, including patient care, operational efficiency, and financial stability. It compares hospitals only against similar facilities in terms of size and teaching status.

Identified from nearly 3,000 U.S. hospitals, our award winners demonstrate that high-quality patient outcomes can be achieved while improving efficiency.  If all hospitals performed at the same level as the 100 Top Hospitals award winners*:

• Nearly 116,000 additional patients would survive each year.
• More than 197,000 patient complications would be avoided annually.
• The average patient stay would decrease by half a day.
• Expense per adjusted discharge would drop by $462.

*Based on analysis of Medicare inpatients over one year.

STUDY DETAILS

• RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2011

To qualify: General and applicable specialty, short-term, acute-care, non-federal U.S. hospitals treating a broad spectrum of patients.

Key performance measures:

• Risk-adjusted mortality index
• Risk-adjusted complications index
• Risk-adjusted patient safety index
• Core measures score
• 30-day mortality rate
• 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate
• Severity-adjusted average length of stay
• Case mix- and wage-adjusted inpatient expense per adjusted discharge
• Profitability (operating profit margin)
• HCAHPS score (patient rating of overall hospital performance)

Data sources:

Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR), 2008 and 2009; Medicare Cost Report, 2009; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare, 2009

Read study methodology highlights.