5/31/2011 – NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) was named one of the nation’s 10 Top Health Systems® in a comprehensive analysis of quality, efficiency and clinical performance by Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of healthcare.
Ken Anderson, D.O., Chief Medical Quality Officer, talks about how this prestigious honor recognizes top clinical performance, quality and efficiency
Thomson Reuters looked at data from 285 health systems nationwide and found that the top 10 outperformed their peers by saving more lives, causing fewer medical complications, making fewer medical errors, following recommended standards of care more closely and scoring better on patient satisfaction surveys. NorthShore is comprised of four hospitals: Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park and Skokie.
“We are very pleased to have received this national recognition for our commitment to quality care and exceptional patient experiences. We congratulate our entire team of Physicians and Staff who share in this award,” said Mark Neaman, President and CEO of NorthShore. “NorthShore remains well positioned for a continued active leadership role in helping shape the future of healthcare, given its quality initiatives and comprehensive Electronic Medical Records usage. We believe this award is further validation of our capabilities.”
The 10 Top Health Systems study measured the performance of health systems based on several metrics, including in-hospital mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, adherence to clinical standards of care and patient survey scores.
“This year, the 10 Top Health Systems set a new standard for high quality of care across all of the communities they serve,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters. “These systems are positioned to continue performing well as we move further into the era of healthcare reform.”
The winners of the award display excellence in quality and efficiency, according to Thomson Reuters, and establish national benchmarks that all health systems can look to. Some of the proactive, tangible steps NorthShore has taken include establishing enterprise-wide clinical projects to help create predictable, high-quality care patient outcomes, and incorporating comprehensive EMR and data informatics systems to help standardize best evidence-based clinical practices into effective and efficient care delivery plans.
“We have worked hard to define and deploy health care processes that are of the highest quality and greatest efficiency with a strong focus on patient safety,” said Ken Anderson, D.O., Chief Medical Quality Officer at NorthShore. “This is affirmation that the highest level of quality and safety is available at each NorthShore institution.”
The study evaluated U.S. health systems with two or more short-term, acute care, non-federal hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of patients. Researchers used public data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) dataset and the CMS Hospital Compare datasets. There is no application process or any costs or fees associated with winning or publicizing the award.
More information on this study and other 100 Top Hospitals research is available at www.100tophospitals.com.