Four Intermountain Healthcare Facilities Shine in IBM Watson Health’s 2019 Top 100 Hospitals List

A study by IBM Watson Health named four Intermountain Healthcare facilities to their annual Top 100 Hospitals list. These Utah hospitals were recognized as top industry performers:

• Alta View Hospital in Sandy
• Logan Regional Hospital in Logan
• Utah Valley Hospital in Provo
• Cedar City Hospital in Cedar City

The hospitals that make the list serve as examples of how innovation can lead to better value-based care for patients. Highlighting the achievements and goals of organizations on the list gives other hospitals around the country examples to strive for.

The Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals study uses independent and objective research to analyze hospital and health system performance in 10 clinical and operational areas.

“This honor reflects the data-driven work of our clinicians and employees to consistently bring quality and value to our patients,” said Rob Allen, Intermountain Healthcare’s chief operating officer. “Our programs like Zero Harm to protect patient safety and telehealth services — which link renowned specialists with clinicians and patients in rural areas — are becoming models for other health systems around the county.” 

The study spotlights the top-performing hospitals in the U.S. based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational, and patient satisfaction data. Based on the results of this year’s study, IBM Watson Health extrapolates that if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities:

• More than 103,000 additional lives could be saved
• More than 38,000 additional patients could be complication-free
• More than $8.2 billion in inpatient costs could be saved
• Approximately 155,000 fewer discharged patients would be readmitted within 30 days

This is Logan Regional Hospital’s seventh year in a row on the list, while Utah Valley is making the top 100 for the first time. Cedar City and Alta View have each made the list at least six times.

The 10 clinical and operational areas examined in the study include: risk-adjusted inpatient mortality, risk-adjusted complications, mean healthcare-associated infections, mean 30-day risk-adjusted mortality rates, mean 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rates, severity-adjusted length of stay, mean emergency department throughput, case mix- and wage-adjusted inpatient expense per discharge, adjusted operating profit margin, and HCAHPS scores (patient ratings of overall hospital performance).

The study has been conducted annually since 1993. For more information, visit www.100tophospitals.com.