IBM Watson Health ranks top 15 health systems

The list is developed based on a balanced scorecard, which reviews publicly available data for clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics. This year's top health systems reported 13.8 percent fewer in-hospital deaths and patients experienced 12.6 percent few complications.

Additionally, the health systems' combined in-hospital and post-discharge costs were 1.1 percent lower per episode, and patient satisfaction was not jeopardized, with ratings 2.5 percent higher.

Below is the breakdown of top health systems by category and in alphabetical order:

Large health systems:

1. Avera Health — Sioux Falls, S.D.
2. Mayo Foundation — Rochester, Minn.
3. Mercy — Chesterfield, Mo.
4. St. Luke's Health System — Boise, Idaho
5. UCHealth — Aurora, Colo.

Medium health systems:

1. Edward-Elmhurst Health — Naperville, Ill.
2. HealthPartners — Bloomington, Minn.
3. Merch Health — Cincinnati
4. Parkview Health — Fort Wayne, Ind.
5. TriHealth — Cincinnati

Small health systems:

1. Asante — Medford, Ore.
2. Asprius — Wausau, Wis.
3. PIH Health — Whittier, Calif.
4. ProHealth Care — Waukesha, Wis.
5. Spectrum Health Lakeland — St. Joseph, Mich.