The Reading Hospital Ranked Top 5% in Nation for Second Year in a Row

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Reading Hospital announced today that a new study ranks its clinical quality among the top 5% in the nation. The study by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, analyzed patient outcomes at each of the nation’s 5,000 nonfederal hospitals over the years 2006, 2007, and 2008 and named hospitals in the top five percent as HealthGrades Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence™.

According to the eighth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study, The Reading Hospital and the other hospitals in the top 5% demonstrated patient outcomes that far exceeded those of other hospitals. Patients admitted to these hospitals had risk-adjusted mortality rates that were, on average, 29% lower than all other hospitals. Risk-adjusted complication rates were, on average, 9% lower than all other hospitals.

The Reading Hospital is one of only 269 hospitals that received this distinction from HealthGrades. “Our data show that only a select few hospitals achieve high-quality patient outcomes not just in a few categories of care, but across the board and over time,” said Rick May, MD, a vice president with HealthGrades and an author of the study. “Patients in communities with a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence should feel proud of the hospital’s accomplishments, and confident that the level of care there is among the very best in the nation.”

The study states: “Patients who choose to receive their care at a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence certainly will have a lower risk for an adverse clinical outcome relative to all other hospitals.”

As a group, The Reading Hospital and those identified as being in the top 5% in the nation improved their mortality rates at a faster pace than all other hospitals. Over the years 2006, 2007, and 2008, the HealthGrades study found that Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence lowered their risk-adjusted mortality rates over the three years by an average of 14%, compared with a 10% average improvement of all other hospitals. 

In addition to being a recipient of the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™, the Reading Hospital and Medical Center is a recipient of the Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award™ , the Stroke Care Excellence Award™ , Overall Pulmonary Services Excellence Award™ placing them in the top 10% of the nation.  They are also a recipient of Five-Star ratings for Coronary Bypass Surgery, Valve Replacement, Hip Fracture Repair, Treatment of COPD and Pneumonia, Treatment of Sepsis and Women’s Health.