Joint Commission Releases List of ‘Top Performers’
The Joint Commission has released a list of “top performers,” highlighting 620 hospitals that excelled in treatment of certain conditions such as heart failure and pneumonia, and in caring for patients in specific departments, such as surgery.
“These hospitals are leading the way in quality improvement, as American hospitals as a whole continue to make strides,” Mark R. Chassin, president of The Joint Commission said in a report outlining the results, which were released Sept. 19.
To make the list, each of the recognized hospitals had to meet two 95% performance thresholds based on 2011 data reported to The Joint Commission, which is an independent, non-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 19,000 hospitals and healthcare organizations.
“First, each hospital achieved performance of 95% or above on a single, composite score that includes all the accountability measures for which it reports data to The Joint Commission, including measures that had fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients,” reads the report, Improving America’s Hospitals: The Joint Commission’s Annual Report on Quality and Safety. “Second, each hospital met or exceeded 95% performance on every accountability measure for which it reports data to The Joint Commission, excluding any measures with fewer than 30 eligible cases or patients.”
The Joint Commission has 45 accountability measures. Each represent an evidence-based practice such as “giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, and providing a home management plan for children with asthma.”
A 95% score means a hospital carried out that practice 95 times out of 100 opportunities.
The Joint Commission has published quality and safety reports on hospital performance every year since 2007, and this is the second year the organization released a list of top performers.
The 620 hospitals, which are not ranked in any order, is an increase from last year’s number of 406. Of the 620 hospitals, 244 made the list last year, The Joint Commission says.
More than 3,300 eligible Joint Commission-accredited hospitals contributed data.
“Most hospitals not recognized among the 620 top performersare still performing well on accountability measures, but there is still room for improvement,” The Joint Commission says. “For example, 583 hospitals narrowly missed top performersrecognition by having sub-95 percent performance on only one measure.”
To read the full report, click here.
Posted: September 26, 2012