Fortune and IBM Watson Health Recognize Top-Performing U.S. Hospitals and Health Systems

Rhea-AI Summary

IBM Watson Health has unveiled its 2021 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals and 15 Top Health Systems award winners, highlighting top-performing hospitals in the U.S. This year’s rankings integrated community health contributions and equity measures alongside clinical outcomes and operational efficiency metrics. The evaluated hospitals demonstrated improved performance indicators, potentially saving over 79,000 lives and $10.1 billion in costs when applied to all Medicare inpatients. The assessments were based on publicly available data from various Medicare and health organizations.

Positive

• Top hospitals potentially saving over 79,000 lives and $10.1 billion in costs.
• Introduction of community health measures may enhance health equity and care quality.

Negative

• None.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) Watson Health today announced its 2021 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® and 15 Top Health Systems award winners, naming the top-performing hospitals and health systems in the U.S. This year's ranking of top hospitals introduces a measure of hospitals' contributions to community health with a focus on equity, along with measures of clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience, and financial health.

A team of experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, developed the measure of hospital contributions to community health with a focus on equity. For the ranking, hospitals were surveyed across three components: 1) assessing hospital contributions to community health as a provider of critical services for community health and preventive care; 2) identifying ways that hospitals contribute to community health as a community partner teaming up with local organizations to implement critical programs; and 3) focusing on ways that hospitals promote community health through their practices as anchor institutions supporting local economic and social progress. Hospitals received credit for meeting a certain number of best practice standards in each component as part of the survey scoring and the new measure led to a change in ranking for more than one-third of the 100 hospitals.  

"Hospitals save lives both by caring for individuals who are sick and by working to keep their communities healthy," said Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement and Director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "By recognizing hospital excellence in community health with a focus on equity, IBM Watson Health is helping advance the broad and urgent mission of healthcare in the twenty-first century."

"We are proud to bring forward this first assessment of hospital contributions to community health as a way to help hospitals identify and eliminate gaps in their programs, provide equitable quality care, and address health disparities," said Irene Dankwa-Mullan, MD, MPH, Chief Health Equity Officer and Deputy Chief Health officer at IBM Watson Health. "We believe that including a community measure as part of the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals ranking can help begin the process of change and improvement across the hospital community."

The goal of the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals and IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems lists is to identify top performing hospitals and health systems and deliver insights that may help healthcare organizations focus their improvement initiatives on achieving consistent, balanced and sustainable high performance. The studies used to determine the lists are based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational, and patient satisfaction metrics and data.

Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® List
Compared to similar hospitals, the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list had better results on performance indicators intended to measure clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience and financial health. These include survival rates, patient complications, healthcare-associated infections, 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates, length of stay, throughput in emergency departments, inpatient expenses, profitability, and ratings from patients. Additionally, performance by these 100 hospitals, when extrapolated to all Medicare inpatients, could result in:

• More than 79,000 additional lives saved in the hospital;
• More than 44,000 additional patients being complication-free;
• More than $10.1 billion in inpatient costs saved; and
• More than 34,000 fewer discharged patients readmitted within 30 days.

To determine the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list, IBM Watson Health researchers evaluated 2,675 short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals. All research was based on the following public data sets: Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) data, and data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website. Hospitals do not apply for awards, and winners do not pay to market this honor.

In addition to the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list, select hospitals were also recognized as Everest Award winners. These are hospitals that earned the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list designation and had the highest rates of improvement during a five-year period.

IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems List
As compared to their peer health systems, the hospitals included on the IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems list had better results on performance indicators intended to measure clinical outcomes, operational efficiency and patient experience. These include lower inpatient mortality rates and fewer patient complications, considering patient severity; care that resulted in fewer healthcare-associated infections; lower 30-day readmission rates; shorter lengths of stay; faster emergency care; higher scores on patient ratings of their overall hospital experience: and lower episode-of-care expenses for the in-hospital through aftercare process. Additionally, performance by these 15 health systems, when extrapolated to all Medicare inpatients, could result in:

• Approximately 66,000 additional lives saved;
• More than 22,000 additional patients being complication-free;
• Healthcare-associated infections being reduced by 15 percent; and
• Patients spending 31 fewer minutes in hospital emergency departments, per visit.

To determine the hospitals included on the IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems list, IBM Watson Health researchers evaluated 324 health systems and 2,522 hospitals that are members of health systems. All research was based on the following public data sets: Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) data, and data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website. Health systems do not apply for awards, and winners do not pay to market this honor.

For more information, visit http://www.100tophospitals.com/.

Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals List (by category) * Denotes Everest Award winner
Major Teaching Hospitals
Ascension Providence Hospital - Southfield Campus	Southfield, MI
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple	Temple, TX
Baylor University Medical Center*	Dallas, TX
Emory University Hospital Midtown	Atlanta, GA
Mercy Health Saint Mary's	Grand Rapids, MI
Morristown Medical Center	Morristown, NJ
NorthShore University HealthSystem	Evanston, IL
Riverside Methodist Hospital	Columbus, OH
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center	Hartford, CT
Spectrum Health Hospitals	Grand Rapids, MI
St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital	Ann Arbor, MI
St. Luke's University Hospital - Bethlehem	Bethlehem, PA
University Hospital	Madison, WI
University of Utah Hospital	Salt Lake City, UT
UPMC Pinnacle Harrisburg*	Harrisburg, PA
Teaching Hospitals
Aspirus Wausau Hospital	Wausau, WI
Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center	Sioux Falls, SD
Banner - University Medical Center South*	Tucson, AZ
Brandon Regional Hospital	Brandon, FL
Grand Strand Medical Center	Myrtle Beach, SC
HonorHealth Scottsdale Thompson Peak Medical Ctr	Scottsdale, AZ
LDS Hospital	Salt Lake City, UT
McKay-Dee Hospital	Ogden, UT
Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas	Rogers, AR
Methodist Hospital	Saint Louis Park, MN
Missouri Baptist Medical Center*	Saint Louis, MO
Morton Plant Hospital	Clearwater, FL
Mount Carmel St. Ann's	Westerville, OH
Orlando Regional Medical Center	Orlando, FL
Redmond Regional Medical Center	Rome, GA
Rose Medical Center	Denver, CO
Saint Joseph Hospital	Denver, CO
Sentara Leigh Hospital	Norfolk, VA
Sky Ridge Medical Center	Lone Tree, CO
St. Mark's Hospital*	Salt Lake City, UT
The Medical Center of Aurora	Aurora, CO
UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital	Fort Collins, CO
UH Geauga Medical Center	Chardon, OH
United Hospital Center	Bridgeport, WV
Wesley Medical Center	Wichita, KS
Large Community Hospitals
AdventHealth Daytona Beach*	Daytona Beach, FL
AdventHealth Shawnee Mission	Shawnee Mission, KS
Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center	Medford, OR
Edward Hospital	Naperville, IL
El Camino Hospital*	Mountain View, CA
Elmhurst Hospital*	Elmhurst, IL
FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital	Pinehurst, NC
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital*	Sugar Land, TX
Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital*	Houston, TX
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City	Oklahoma City, OK
Mission Regional Medical Center*	Mission, TX
Olathe Medical Center	Olathe, KS
Parkridge Medical Center*	Chattanooga, TN
Piedmont Fayette Hospital	Fayetteville, GA
Silver Cross Hospital	New Lenox, IL
St. Clair Hospital	Pittsburgh, PA
St. David's Medical Center*	Austin, TX
St. Joseph's Hospital	Tampa, FL
St. Vincent's Medical Center Southside	Jacksonville, FL
TriStar Centennial Medical Center*	Nashville, TN
Medium Community Hospitals
AdventHealth Wesley Chapel	Wesley Chapel, FL
Baptist Medical Center Beaches	Jacksonville Beach, FL
Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi	Oxford, MS
CHI Health Lakeside	Omaha, NE
Dublin Methodist Hospital	Dublin, OH
East Liverpool City Hospital	East Liverpool, OH
Englewood Community Hospital	Englewood, FL
Fairview Park Hospital	Dublin, GA
Maple Grove Hospital	Maple Grove, MN
McLaren Northern Michigan	Petoskey, MI
Mercy Iowa City	Iowa City, IA
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center	Dubuque, IA
Orlando South Lake Hospital*	Clermont, FL
Reston Hospital Center	Reston, VA
Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center*	Reno, NV
Sentara RMH Medical Center	Harrisonburg, VA
St. Luke's Anderson Campus	Easton, PA
St. Vincent's Medical Center Clay County	Middleburg, FL
TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center	Hendersonville, TN
Wooster Community Hospital	Wooster, OH
Small Community Hospitals
American Fork Hospital	American Fork, UT
Ashley Regional Medical Center	Vernal, UT
Banner Ironwood Medical Center	San Tan Valley, AZ
Baptist Health - Hot Spring County*	Malvern, AR
Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital	Saint Louis, MO
Bartow Regional Medical Center	Bartow, FL
Buffalo Hospital	Buffalo, MN
Cedar City Hospital	Cedar City, UT
Coshocton Regional Medical Center	Coshocton, OH
Fort Memorial Hospital	Fort Atkinson, WI
Hill Country Memorial Hospital	Fredericksburg, TX
Lehigh Regional Medical Center*	Lehigh Acres, FL
Lone Peak Hospital*	Draper, UT
Mercy Health - Tiffin Hospital*	Tiffin, OH
Parkview Whitley Hospital	Columbia City, IN
Saint Alphonsus Medical Center - Ontario	Ontario, OR
Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital	Zeeland, MI
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Centralia	Centralia, IL
St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea Hospital	Chelsea, MI
St. Luke's Miners Campus	Coaldale, PA
IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems List (by category)
Large Health Systems
Allina Health	Minneapolis, MN
Avera Health	Sioux Falls, SD
HCA Continental Division/HealthONE	Denver, CO
Mayo Clinic	Rochester, MN
Sentara Healthcare	Norfolk, VA
Medium Health Systems
Edward-Elmhurst Health	Naperville, IL
HealthPartners	Bloomington, MN
Main Line Health	Bryn Mawr, PA
St. Luke's Health System	Boise, ID
St. Luke's University Health Network	Bethlehem, PA
Small Health Systems
Asante	Medford, OR
Aspirus	Wausau, WI
Genesis Health System	Davenport, IA
MountainStar Healthcare	Cottonwood Heights, UT
Saint Alphonsus Health System	Boise, ID

About the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® List
The Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list is determined using independent and objective research to analyze hospital and health system performance. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor or pay to promote their award. Award-winning hospitals and health systems serve as a model of excellence for the industry.

About the IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® Program
The IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals Program's annual studies result in the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list, Fortune/IBM Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list and IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems list. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor or pay to promote their award. Award-winning hospitals and health systems serve as a model of excellence for the industry. Visit http://www.100tophospitals.com/ for more information.

About IBM Watson Health
IBM Watson Health is a data, analytics, and technology partner for the health industry. Supported by the innovation of IBM and intelligence of Watson, we are committed to helping build smarter health ecosystems. Through the combination of our deep industry expertise in health, data and analytics, actionable insights, and reputation for security and trust, Watson Health is working together with its clients and partners to help them achieve simpler processes, better care insights, faster breakthroughs, and improved experiences for people around the world. Learn more at https://www.ibm.com/watson-health.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Carolyn Castel
857-337-0601
Carolyn.castel@ibm.com

Banks Willis
202-577-5847
Banks.willis@ibm.com

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FAQ

What are the criteria for the 2021 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals?

The criteria include clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience, and financial health, with additional focus on community health contributions and equity.

How many hospitals were evaluated for the 2021 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list?

A total of 2,675 short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals were evaluated.

What impact did the 2021 rankings have on hospital performance?

The rankings may lead to improved hospital programs and practices, promoting health equity and saving lives.

When was the 2021 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals announced?

The announcement was made on April 27, 2021.

What is the significance of the Everest Award in the 2021 rankings?

The Everest Award recognizes hospitals with the highest rates of improvement over a five-year period.