LOS ANGELES: AHN.COM Ranks Area’s Hospitals
UCLA Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Long Beach Memorial Medical Center have been recognized as Los Angeles' top hospitals in overall performance by a new America Health Network study. The results, released yesterday as part of the Mercury Awards, can be accessed at AHN's Web site, www.ahn.com. The hospitals were rated in overall performance, oncology, cardiology and orthopedics. Cedars-Sinai ranked highest in cardiology and orthopedics, while UCLA Medical Center scored highest in oncology. "In issuing these awards, the feedback from consumers has been overwhelming. This type of information is not generally available to the public, but we at AHN.COM feel that it is important that consumers have this information as they choose their local health care provider," said AHN.COM President J. Tod Fetherling (AHN release, 12/2). The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports that the study was conducted by Baltimore-based HCIA Inc., a national health care information company, which "collected data from Medicare records to examine 72 hospitals in the county." Researchers "compared statistics, such as the number of deaths in a hospital vs. the expected number of deaths over a two-year period; the number of cases with complications vs. the expected number; and the average length of stay vs. that in other hospitals in the market" (Heald, 12/3).
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