Safest hospitals for Medicare and Medicaid patients announced

The top U.S. hospitals for “clinical excellence” have 29 percent lower mortality rates according to HealthGrades’ annual study released today.

More than 150,000 Medicare patient deaths and 13,104 in-hospital complications may have been avoided if all hospitals performed at the same level as the top 5 percent, according to HealthGrades, a Golden, Colo.,-based organization that ranks U.S. hospitals, physicians and nursing homes.

“This independent study of mortality and complication rates identifies an elite group of hospitals that are setting the benchmark for outstanding patient outcomes,” said Rick May, MD, HealthGrades vice president of clinical excellence research and a study co-author.

Delaware has the highest percentage of the 269 top hospitals cited in the report, followed by Maryland, Minnesota, Florida and Connecticut. Hospitals making the top 5 percent list had the lowest mortality rates for Medicare and Medicaid patients, according to the HealthGrades report released today. Thirty-six states have one or more hospitals on the list while 13 states had none.

HealthGrades analyzed about 40 million patient records kept by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for fiscal years 2006, 2007 and 2008, for 26 medical procedures and diagnoses at every one of the nation’s nearly 5,000 non-federal hospitals. All hospitals were required to participate in the rating process.

The analysis found that hospitals that rated in the top 5 percent have a 29 percent lower risk-adjusted mortality rate, had 9 percent lower risk-adjusted complication rates than other hospitals, and are improving their clinical quality at a faster pace than other hospitals, according to HealthGrades. The top hospitals also showed greater improvement in lowering risk-adjusted mortality rates from 2006 through 2008, with an average of 13.91 percent improvement versus 10.41 percent improvement for all other hospitals.

A list of the hospitals with the best outcomes for Medicare patients is available at www.healthgrades.com.