Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/774606
33 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT & MEASUREMENT Patients in Worst Hospitals 3 Times More Likely to Die, Study Concludes By Heather Punke A "substantial opportunity for outcomes improvement in the U.S. healthcare system" exists, researchers concluded after finding mortality and patient safety differed greatly between top- and bot- tom-decile hospitals, as well as geographically. A study published in December in PLOS One examined information from 16 independent data sources, including 22 million all-payer admissions, to analyze and compare 24 inpatient mortality, safety and prevention outcomes between hospitals. After risk adjustment, researchers found "large variation" in outcomes at the hospital level and between different regions. "There is considerable variation in outcomes that really matter to patients, from hospital to hospital, as well as region to region," Thomas Lee, MD, CMO of Press Ganey, told The New York Times. The study found patients at the bottom-decile hospitals were three times more likely to die than patients at the best hospitals, and complications were 13 percent more likely at the worst hospitals when compared to top-decile organizations. Researchers agreed to not disclose hospitals' names, according to The New York Times. "These findings suggest that: 1) additional examination of regional and local variation in risk-adjusted outcomes should be a priority; 2) assumptions of uniform hospital quality that underpin rationale for policy choices (such as narrow insurance networks or antitrust enforcement) should be challenged; and 3) there exists substantial opportunity for outcomes improvement in the U.S. healthcare system," the authors concluded. n Leapfrog Names 2016 Top Hospitals: 7 Things to Know By Heather Punke T he Leapfrog Group named its Top Hos- pitals for 2016 in December, and 115 hospitals made the cut in four catego- ries: children's hospitals, general hospitals, teaching hospitals and rural hospitals. e Leapfrog Group considers several quality metrics when selecting its Top Hospitals, in- cluding safety, surgical outcomes, maternity care and leadership. e group uses data from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey to determine the recipients — roughly 1,800 hospitals complet- ed the survey this year. Here are seven things to know about the des- ignation and this year's honorees. 1. Leapfrog changed the Top Hospital cate- gories this year, separating the former Top Urban Hospitals category into two categories: Top Teaching Hospitals and Top General Hos- pitals. 2. There is no set number of hospitals that can receive the designation each year — in- stead, all hospitals that meet the standards set by Leapfrog and outperform others in their category are named as a Top Hospital. 3. Fiy-six hospitals were named Top General Hospitals this year. 4. Twenty-nine teaching hospitals were des- ignated as a Top Teaching Hospital for 2016. 5. Twenty-nine rural and critical access hos- pitals were recognized as Top Rural Hospitals this year, up from 24 last year. 6. Nine hospitals were recognized in the Top Children's Hospitals category, down from 12 last year. 7. Leapfrog's 2016 Top Hospitals are located in 28 states and Washington, D.C., this year. California had the most, with 25. Florida and Illinois were close behind, with 11 and 10, respectively. n