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30 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT & MEASUREMENT 49 Hospitals With the Lowest Readmission Rates By Heather Punke E ven though recent studies have called into question if low readmission rates are a sign of a high-quality hospital, hospi- tals in the U.S. are still financially punished for high readmission rates as part of CMS' Hospi- tal Readmission Reduction Program — but the following hospitals do not have that problem. e national 30-day rate of readmission aer hospital discharge is 15.6 percent, according to the most recent data from CMS' Hospi- tal Compare. However, some hospitals have much lower readmission rates than the na- tional average. Listed below are the 49 hospitals with 30-day hospitalwide readmission rates at or below 13.6 percent. Data were pulled from CMS' Hospital Compare website, and the rates re- flect data measured from July 2014 through June 2015, the most recent data available. Hospital for Special Surgery (New York) — 10.8 percent Hoag Orthopedic Institute (Irvine, Calif.) — 11 New England Baptist Hospital (Boston) — 11.8 OrthoIndy Hospital (Indianapolis) — 12.2 Mount Carmel New Albany (Ohio) Surgical Hospital — 12.3 Arkansas Surgical Hospital (North Little Rock) — 12.4 St. Francis-Downtown (Greenville, S.C.) — 12.8 Community Hospital of the Monterey Penin- sula (Monterey, Calif.) — 12.9 Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital (Wichita) — 12.9 Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital (Omaha) — 13 St. Alexius Medical Center (Bismarck, N.D.) — 13 Chino Valley Medical Center (Chino, Calif.) — 13.1 Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Hospital — 13.1 Kansas Surgery & Recover Center (Wichita) — 13.1 Texas Orthopedic Hospital (Houston) — 13.1 Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla (Calif.) — 13.2 Fresno (Calif.) Surgical Hospital — 13.2 Parkview Medical Center (Pueblo, Colo.) — 13.2 St. Vincent Carmel (Ind.) Hospital — 13.2 CHI St. Luke's Health-Patients Medical Cen- ter (Pasadena, Texas) — 13.2 Providence Alaska Medical Center (Anchor- age) — 13.3 Verde Valley Medical Center (Cottonwood, Ariz.) — 13.3 Mercy Medical Center Redding (Calif.) — 13.3 St. Mary's Medical Center (Grand Junction, Colo.) — 13.3 e Queen's Medical Center (Honolulu, Hawaii) — 13.3 Mercy Hospital (Iowa City, Iowa) — 13.3 Intermountain Medical Center (Murray, Utah) — 13.3 Nebraska Spine Hospital (Omaha) — 13.4 Oklahoma Surgical Hospital (Tulsa) — 13.4 McBride Orthopedic Hospital (Oklahoma City, Okla.) — 13.4 St. Joseph Medical Center (Bellingham, Wash.) — 13.4 Mayo Clinic Health System Eau Claire (Wis.) Hospital — 13.4 Santa Barbara (Calif.) Cottage Hospital — 13.5 MaineGeneral Medical Center (Augusta) — 13.5 MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena — 13.5 Lincoln (Neb.) Surgical Hospital — 13.5 Oklahoma Heart Hospital (Oklahoma City) — 13.5 Lancaster (Pa.) General Hospital — 13.5 Flagstaff (Ariz.) Medical Center — 13.6 Santa Rosa (Calif.) Memorial Hospital — 13.6 ValleyCare Medical Center (Pleasanton, Calif.) — 13.6 Sutter Auburn (Calif.) Faith Hospital — 13.6 Centrua Health-Penrose St. Francis Health Services (Colorado Springs, Colo.) — 13.6 Rooks County Health Center (Plainville, Kan.) — 13.6 St. Patrick Hospital (Missoula, Mont.) — 13.6 St. Vincent Healthcare (Billings, Mont.) — 13.6 Integris Bass Baptist Health Center (Enid, Okla.) — 13.6 St. Luke's Quakertown (Pa.) Hospital — 13.6 Black Hills Surgical Hospital (Rapid City, S.D.) — 13.6 n Female Physicians' Patients Have Lower Death & Readmission Rates, Study Finds By Heather Punke M edicare patients treated by female physicians have lower 30-day mortality and readmission rates than those treated by male physicians, according to a study recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers analyzed more than 1.5 million Medicare fee-for-service patients who were hospitalized from 2011 through 2014, examining the relationship between physician sex and mortality and readmission rates. They adjusted for patient, physician and hospital characteristics. Of the 58,344 hospitalists who treated at least one Medicare patient, 18,751 were women. When compared to male physicians, the female physicians tend- ed to be younger, were more likely to have had osteopathic training, and treat- ed fewer patients. Patients treated by female physicians had lower 30-day mortality rates (11.07 percent compared to 11.49 percent) and lower 30-day hospital readmission rates (15.02 percent compared to 15.57 percent). Previous studies have shown female physicians are more likely to adhere to clinical-based guidelines and evidence-based practice. This study's authors concluded their findings "suggest that the differences in practice patterns be- tween male and female physicians, as suggested in previous studies, may have important clinical implications for patient outcomes." n