Ochsner Recognized in Top 20% of US Health Systems

Submitted by Amy Delaney

   Ochsner Health System was recognized as being in the top 20 percent of health systems in the nation by Thomson Reuters as part of its Top Health Systems study. Ochsner was the only health system in Louisiana to make the list. This accolade comes just months after Thomson Reuters named Ochsner Medical Center and its West Bank Campus to the list of 100 Top Hospitals® in the country.

     The Top Health Systems study uses a balance of quality measures to compile its rankings: mortality index, complications index, patient safety index, core measures, 30-day mortality rate, 30-day readmission rate, average length of stay and HCAHPS score (patient satisfaction). Top performing systems in the study can provide other health system leaders with useful data for performance benchmarking and allow them to understand how they measure up in terms of clinical quality and efficiency.

    Ochsner Health System’s eight hospitals ranked in the Top Quintile (20 percent): Best Performing Systems in the nation (of 285 health systems — almost every U.S. system with two or more acute-care member hospitals).  Results found that these systems appear to care for sicker and poorer patients. Despite their sicker patient load, the top systems:

• Have much better patient outcomes — a third fewer mortalities and a quarter fewer complications
• Provide higher-quality care — they follow accepted care protocols (core measures) more closely and have nearly a third fewer adverse patient safety events
• Are more efficient, releasing patients more than a day sooner than the lowest performers
• Have better patient satisfaction scores

    “We are extremely proud of this honor because it shows what great work is being done across our system,” said Dr. Patrick Quinlan, Chief Executive Officer, Ochsner Health System. “Ochsner Health System has improved quality in each of our eight hospitals over the last several years and the results are being recognized nationally. To be named among the top 50 health systems in the country is testimony to the doctors, nurses and staff who work diligently to provide the best possible patient care every day.”

    “Ochsner has almost 13,000 employees – physicians, nurses, lab technicians, patient relations – all of whom have contributed to making our system the only nationally recognized system in the state,” said Warner Thomas, President and Chief Operating Officer, Ochsner Health System.  "We are thankful for their dedication to their patients and to always providing them the highest quality care.”

    Ochsner Health System has been acknowledged nationally numerous times in 2011. Ochsner Medical Center was named the top hospital in the New Orleans metropolitan area by U.S. News & World Report and one of the 50 Best Hospitals by Becker's Hospital Review; HealthGrades ranked Ochsner Medical Center and its West Bank Campus among the Top 5 Percent For Superior Patient Outcomes; and Ochsner Health System CEO Patrick Quinlan, MD, was recognized as one of the top 65 Physician Leaders of Hospitals and Health Systems by Becker's Hospital Review.