As stated in earlier blog posts, I am, in general, not a fan of most hospital rating systems.  Although they are well intended it’s just too hard to provide an all-encompassing rating comparing different hospitals that serve different populations and offer very different services.  This does not mean we shouldn’t measure quality, in fact I believe measuring and being transparent about your results is an important part of getting better, and getting a little better every day is what it’s all about.

With this in mind, I’m still pleased to announce that the Medical Center was rated by Healthgrades as one of the “Top 100 Hospitals in America” for having quality metrics in the top 2 percent of all hospitals across the country. To see the full list, please click here:  https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rankings-and-ratings/healthgrades-announces-america-s-best-hospitals-for-2018.html

In the same week, the Medical Group was honored by Harvard Pilgrim for ranking in the top 25th percentile for outpatient quality metrics in Massachusetts, which is hard to do as our state scores are in the top decile compared to the rest of the nation. Congratulations to everyone involved in securing these honors.

So, how do we reconcile Healthgrades including us as a top 100 hospital when just a couple of months ago the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ratings posted on the Hospital Compare website gave the Medical Center a less-than-stellar one-star rating? It’s apples and oranges: The comparisons depend on what factors each ratings system deem most important. The CMS star ratings system heavily emphasizes cost issues including readmission and efficiency measures while putting less emphasis on mortality and complications. The Healthgrades rating formula is the opposite, with most of the emphasis on select mortality measures and less on efficiency.  If you look at our system-level True North metrics), you will see that the measures we track are much more aligned with the Healthgrades and Harvard Pilgrim measures and less aligned with the CMS criteria.

The quality of care we are delivering is definitely getting better thanks to the tremendous efforts of all of you – and your relentless pursuit to deliver the best possible care to our patients. My advice is not to worry too much about the rating systems and focus on delivering the best care possible to our patients and everything else will take care of itself.

Thanks for taking great care of our patients and one another, and congratulations to the caregivers at the Medical Center, Medical Group and the Office of Clinical Integration for receiving this well-deserved recognition,

Eric