From The Editor | June 3, 2011

IT Drives Top 10 Health Systems

By Ken Congdon, editor in chief, Health IT Outcomes

Thomson Reuters released its third annual ranking of the top 10 health systems in the United States earlier this week, and most of the highest achieving providers are also widely considered to be innovators and early adopters in the area of health IT. The top-performing providers for 2011 are:

  • Advocate Healthcare – Oak Brook, IL
  • Cape Cod Healthcare – Hyannis, MA
  • CareGroup Healthcare System – Boston, MA
  • Kettering Health Network – Dayton, OH
  • Maury Regional Healthcare System – Columbia, TN
  • Mayo Foundation – Rochester, MN
  • NorthShore University HealthSystem – Evanston, IL
  • OhioHealth – Columbus, OH
  • Partners Healthcare – Boston, MA
  • Spectrum Health – Grand Rapids, MI

Compared with their peers, these providers saved more lives, caused fewer medical complications, made fewer medical errors, followed recommended standards of care more closely, released patients an average of half a day sooner, and scored better on patient satisfaction surveys. Is it just a coincidence that these health systems are also some of the industry's health IT leaders? Not likely. At the same time, we should not be led to believe that IT in and of itself is a magic bullet to providing better healthcare. Instead, a more logical explanation for this correlation exists.

Thomson Reuters Top 10 report is based on a variety of quality of care data including mortality rates, readmission rates, length of stay, and complication indexes. Sophisticated IT tools are instrumental in effectively collecting and reporting on these types of statistics. Applications, such as EHRs, clinical decision support systems, and business intelligence solutions are all instrumental in capturing and evaluating these metrics. These applications are providing hospitals with better visibility into these areas, allowing them to track key metrics and implement processes to continually improve performance. With knowledge comes the power to accurately implement positive change, and that is where IT is making the most marked impact with the top health systems in the U.S.