Intermountain Health clinched the top spot as the best-performing large health system in the U.S., according to Fortune and PINC AI's "15 Top Health Systems" list released May 21.
The ranking was compiled by researchers from PINC AI, the technology platform for the healthcare company Premier. The researchers evaluated 355 health systems across the U.S. using publicly available Medicare data. To qualify for the study, each system had to include at least two general, acute care hospitals.
The analysis incorporated data from every hospital within each system, focusing on eight performance indicators, such as inpatient mortality and average length of stay. These indicators measured clinical outcomes, operational efficiency and patient experience. The top-performing systems, categorized into large, medium and small groups, outshined their peers across all eight measures.
The study projected that if all health systems performed at the level of their top-rated peers, there would be 220,000 fewer patient deaths and 196,000 fewer complications annually. Additionally, the average patient would spend half a day less in the hospital, reducing care costs by 2%.
Below are the top-ranking systems for 2024:
Top 5 large health systems
- Intermountain Health (Salt Lake City)
- Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.)
- Houston Methodist
- HCA Continental Division (Denver, Colo.)
- Sutter Health (Sacramento, Calif.)
Top 5 medium health systems
- HCA Mountain Division (Cottonwood Heights, Utah)
- CHI Saint Joseph Health (Lexington, Ky.)
- Saint Francis Health System (Tulsa, Okla.)
- Munson Healthcare (Traverse City, Mich.)
- Ascension Sacred Heart Health System (Pensacola, Fla.)
Top 5 small health systems
- CHI Memorial (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
- Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Sponsored Ministries (Manitowoc, Wis.)
- Olathe Health (Olathe, Kan.)
- Ascension St. Vincent’s HealthCare (Jacksonville, Fla.)
- ThedaCare (Appleton, Wis.)