Health systems that employed fewer primary care physicians, have higher bed counts or are investor owned were more likely to provide more unnecessary or low-value care, a study published Jan. 14 in JAMA found.
For the study, researchers from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University analyzed Medicare claims data at 3,745 hospitals for 17 low-value services. The low-value services were previously identified as unnecessary and included services such as pap smears for women older than 65, an abdominal CT scan with and without contrast and spinal fusions for back pain, according to the study.
The researchers then rated the hospitals using an overuse index, which was based on the Medicare claims for the low-value healthcare services. Health systems rated at least 1.5 standard deviations or more above the average in the overuse index were considered over-users of low-value services.
Below is a breakdown of the 20 hospitals that provided the most unnecessary care based on the overuse index.
1. St. Dominic Health Services (Jackson, Miss.)
2. USMD Health System (Irving, Texas)
3. Community Medical Centers (Clovis, Calif.)
4. Care New England Health System (Providence, R.I.)
5. East Alabama Medical Center (Opelika)
6. Pocono Health System (East Stroudsburg, Pa.)
7. University Health Care System (Augusta, Ga.)
8. Deaconess Health System (Evansville, Ind.)
9. Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.)
10. Iredell Health System (Statesville, N.C.)
11. Sacred Heart HealthCare System (Allentown, Pa.)
12. Southeast Health (Dothan, Ala.)
13. Chesapeake (Va.) Regional Medical Center
14. Butler (Pa.) Health System
15. CarolinaEast Health System (New Bern, N.C.)
16. Ohio Valley Health Services and Education Corp. (Wheeling, W.Va.)
17. Slidell (La.) Memorial Hospital
18. Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Health System
19. North Kansas City (Mo.) Hospital
20. Temple University Health System (Philadelphia)
Read more here.