The number of hospitals considered to be top performers increased by 53% from 2011 to 2012, according to a report from the Joint Commission.
The commission recognized 620 hospitals, compared with 405 last year, as "top performers on key quality measures." Those 620 hospitals represent about 18% of the more than 3,300 that report performance data, with 244 making the list for the second year in a row. 2011 was the first year in which the commission released its list of top hospitals.
The Joint Commission said that it tracks hospital performance "on 45 accountability measures of evidence-based care processes linked to positive patient outcomes."
To be named a top performer, each hospital must achieve performance of 95% or more on a composite score in at least one of eight areas – heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, inpatient psychiatry, stroke, and venous thromboembolism – including measures with fewer than 30 eligible cases. Each hospital also must meet or exceed "95% performance on every accountability measure for which it reports data," although this requirement excludes measures with fewer than 30 eligible cases, the commission said.
In addition to the top performers, the commission noted that 583 hospitals (17% of those reporting) missed 95% performance on only one measure.
The states with at least 20 top-performing hospitals tended to be the most populous states: Texas (69), Florida (60), California (55), Tennessee (29), Georgia (23), Pennsylvania (23), and Ohio (20). States without any top-performing hospitals tended to be among the lowest in population: North Dakota, South Dakota, and Connecticut (and the District of Columbia).
