Researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago ranked 70 hospitals nationwide based on a composite score of popular healthcare rating systems to provide a simpler measurement of hospital quality. They published their findings in the American Journal of Medical Quality.
Researchers combined hospitals' scores from the following ratings systems to create a quality composite rank:
- U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals ranking
- Vizient Quality and Accountability Study ranking
- CMS' star ratings
- The Leapfrog Group's hospital safety grades
- Truven Health Analytics' Top 100 Hospitals ranking
Each hospital received a quality score of one to 10, with one being the best. Rush received a four, while fellow Chicago hospitals Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Loyola University Medical Center received a five and seven, respectively, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Only two hospitals earned a one: Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic and Phoenix-based Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
"This is an attempt to make it more understandable for people," lead study author Bala Hota, MD, chief analytics officer at Rush, told the Chicago Tribune. "We want there to be measures of quality, and we just don't feel like we've gotten there on measures that are providing the most meaning and use for patients."