Joint Commission Names 93 Calif. Hospitals as ‘Top Performers’
In a report released last week, the Joint Commission recognized more than 90 California hospitals as "Top Performers" for their adherence to evidence-based clinical processes, the Sacramento Business Journal reports (Sacramento Business Journal, 11/1).
Details of Report
For the nationwide report, the Joint Commission assessed the performance of accredited hospitals on 47 accountability measures of evidence-based care processes (Joint Commission release, 10/30).
"Top Performer" designations were awarded based on accountability measures for specific health issues, including:
- Children's asthma;
- Heart attack;
- Heart failure;
- Immunization;
- Inpatient psychiatric services;
- Pneumonia;
- Stroke;
- Surgical care; and
- Venous thromboembolism (Sacramento Business Journal, 11/1).
Hospitals were required to select and report on four measure sets in 2012.
Results
Overall, the report listed 1,099 U.S. hospitals as top performers (Joint Commission release, 10/30).
In California, 305 hospitals submitted data to the commission and 93 were recognized as top performers, an increase from 55 hospitals that were recognized in 2011.
View the full report for a complete list of top-performing hospitals in the state.
Need for Improvement
In the report, the commission states, "While the data show impressive gains in hospital quality performance, improvements still can be made," adding, "Some hospitals perform better than others in treating particular conditions" (Joint Commission report, 10/30).
In the coming year, the Joint Commission plans to increase the required number of selected core measure sets for which a hospital must submit data from four to six. "By raising the bar, the Joint Commission is helping its accredited hospitals monitor and improve performance in more clinical conditions and patient populations," the report states (Joint Commission release, 10/30).
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