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UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MEDICAL CENTER RANKS AMONG TOP 100 HOSPITALS IN COUNTRY

For the fourth consecutive year, the University of Virginia Medical Center has been recognized as one of the nation's top 100 hospitals, and one of only two top 100 hospitals in Virginia, according to Solucient's 100 Top Hospitals National Benchmarks for Success study. The annual Solucient study recognizes 100 hospitals for setting national performance benchmarks across four critical areas: quality of care, operational efficiency, financial performance and adaptation to the environment.

"Being named as one of the top 100 hospitals is not only an honor but a reflection of the dedication and commitment of our faculty and staff," said R. Edward Howell, vice president and chief executive officer of the U.Va. Medical Center. "The array of performance measures that Solucient used demonstrate that there is a collaborative effort to deliver quality in our clinical practices, operations and financial management."

If overall performance in all acute care U.S. hospitals were the same as the nation's top hospitals, close to 57,000 more patients could survive each year , according to Solucient's findings. Among the key findings:

  • The number of medical complications could decrease by more than 18 percent for patients in non-winning or "peer" hospitals, affecting more than 150,000 patients annually, if those hospitals improved to the winning or "benchmark" performance level.
  • If all hospitals operated at the benchmark level, a patient's average length of stay could show a marked decrease.

"Winners of the 100 Top award have demonstrated superior performance across their hospital as a whole by successfully balancing quality of care with operational and financial performance to better meet community needs and assure improvement of outcomes for patients, while adapting to external constraints and pressures," said Jean Chenoweth, executive director of Solucient's 100 Top Hospitals program. "In short, these hospitals are able to bring increasingly better services to their patients and provide great value to their communities, despite the growing pressures of an aging population and tighter reimbursements."

Among the study's other findings:

  • Winning hospitals treat more and sicker patients than non-winning hospitals, admitting an average of almost 16 percent more patients and maintaining higher patient-case mix than peer hospitals.
  • The 100 Top Hospitals provided more successful outcomes, helping patients survive life-threatening illness 10 percent more often than their peers.
  • Winning hospitals employ fewer staff, but offer nearly $2,000 more per employee in annual salary and benefits than do peer hospitals. A recent related Solucient study indicated that benchmark hospitals tend to maintain higher ratios of registered nurses to inpatient days.
  • Total profit margins for winning hospitals are twice that of their peers. However, benchmark hospital revenue tied to outpatient services is lower than at peer hospitals.

  • The Southern region of the United States represents the highest number of benchmark hospitals (31), followed by the North Central region (29), the Northeast (26) and the West (15).

The ninth 100 Top Hospitals study analyzed acute care hospitals nationwide using detailed empirical performance data from 1999 and 2000, including publicly available Medicare MEDPAR data and Medicare cost reports.

December 9, 2002