IBM Watson Health Recognizes Top-Performing U.S. Hospitals and Health Systems

IBMIBM (NYSE: IBM) Watson Health® announced its 2020 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list and 15 Top Health Systems award winners, naming the top-performing hospitals and health systems in the U.S. Extrapolating the results of this year's studies, if all Medicare hospitalized patients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities, more than 100,000 additional lives and billions of dollars in inpatient costs could be saved. The lists of the top hospitals and health systems were published by Fortune.

"Hospitals, health systems and the dedicated clinicians and staff who work at these organizations have emerged as true heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are grateful to be able to recognize these extraordinary leaders at this time," said Kyu Rhee, M.D., M.P.P., Vice President and Chief Health Officer, IBM Watson Health. "From small community hospitals to major teaching hospitals, the organizations on this list demonstrate a relentless commitment to high-value, patient-centered care and innovation. It is clear that the COVID-19 crisis will be a catalyst for reinvention, and we believe these top performing hospitals are positioned to emerge stronger and smarter out of this crisis."

The goal of the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals and IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems lists is to identify top performing hospitals and health systems and deliver insights that may help healthcare organizations focus their improvement initiatives on achieving consistent, balanced and sustainable high performance. The studies used to determine the lists are based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational, and patient satisfaction metrics and data.

Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals List

Compared to similar hospitals, the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list had better results on performance indicators intended to measure clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, patient experience and financial health. These include survival rates, patient complications, healthcare-associated infections, 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital-wide readmission rates, length of stay, throughput in emergency rooms, inpatient expenses, profitability, and ratings from patients. Additionally, performance by these hospitals, when extrapolated to all Medicare inpatients, could result in:
  • More than 106,000 additional lives saved;
  • More than 49,000 additional patients being complication-free;
  • More than $8.3 billion in inpatient costs saved; and
  • Approximately 23,000 fewer discharged patients readmitted within 30 days.

To determine the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list, IBM Watson Health researchers evaluated 3,134 short-term, acute care, non-federal U.S. hospitals. All research was based on the following public data sets: Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) data, and core measures and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website. Hospitals do not apply for awards, and winners do not pay to market this honor.

In addition to the hospitals included on the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list, select hospitals were also recognized as Everest Award winners. These are hospitals that earned the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list designation and had the highest rates of improvement during a five-year period.

IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems List

As compared to their peer health systems, the hospitals included on the IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems list had better results on performance indicators intended to measure clinical outcomes, operational efficiency and patient experience. These include lower inpatient mortality rates and fewer patient complications, considering patient severity; care that resulted in fewer hospital-acquired infections; higher influenza immunization rates; lower 30-day readmission rates; shorter lengths of stay; faster emergency care; higher scores on patient ratings of their overall hospital experience: and lower episode-of-care expenses for the in-hospital through aftercare process. Additionally, performance by these health systems, when extrapolated to all Medicare inpatients, could result in:
  • Approximately 43,000 additional lives saved;
  • More than 29,000 additional patients being complication-free;
  • Healthcare-associated infections being reduced by 12 percent; and
  • Patients spending 38 fewer minutes in hospital emergency rooms, per visit.

To determine the hospitals included on the IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems list, IBM Watson Health researchers evaluated 332 health systems and 2,492 hospitals that are members of health systems. All research was based on the following public data sets: Medicare cost reports, MEDPAR data, and core measures and patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare website.

Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals List (by category)

* Denotes Everest Award winner

Major Teaching Hospitals

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center - Chicago, IL*
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple - Temple, TX
Baylor University Medical Center - Dallas, TX
Evanston Hospital - Evanston, IL
Froedtert Hospital - Milwaukee, WI
Inova Fairfax Hospital - Falls Church, VA
Maricopa Medical Center - Phoenix, AZ*
Stanford Hospital - Stanford, CA
St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital - Ann Arbor, MI
St. Luke's University Hospital - Bethlehem - Bethlehem, PA
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital - Aurora, CO
UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica - Santa Monica, CA
UF Health Shands Hospital - Gainesville, FL*
University of Utah Hospital - Salt Lake City, UT*
UT Medical Branch at Galveston - Galveston, TX

Teaching Hospitals

Abbott Northwestern Hospital - Minneapolis, MN
Aspirus Wausau Hospital - Wausau, WI
Brandon Regional Hospital - Brandon, FL
Grandview Medical Center - Dayton, OH
Kettering Medical Center - Kettering, OH
McKay-Dee Hospital - Ogden, UT
Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas - Rogers, AR
Mercy Hospital St. Louis - Saint Louis, MO
Mount Carmel St. Ann's - Westerville, OH
MountainView Hospital - Las Vegas, NV*
Palmetto General Hospital - Hialeah, FL*
PIH Health Hospital - Whittier - Whittier, CA
Redmond Regional Medical Center - Rome, GA
Rose Medical Center - Denver, CO*
Sky Ridge Medical Center - Lone Tree, CO
St. Mark's Hospital - Salt Lake City, UT*
St. Vincent Healthcare - Billings, MT
Swedish Medical Center - Englewood, CO*
The Medical Center of Aurora - Aurora, CO
UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital - Fort Collins, CO
UH Geauga Medical Center - Chardon, OH*
United Hospital Center - Bridgeport, WV
Utah Valley Hospital - Provo, UT*
Wesley Medical Center - Wichita, KS
West Penn Hospital - Pittsburgh, PA

Large Community Hospitals

Abrazo Arrowhead Campus - Glendale, AZ
Advocate Sherman Hospital - Elgin, IL
Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center - Medford, OR
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Grapevine - Grapevine, TX
Edward Hospital - Naperville, IL*
Elmhurst Hospital - Elmhurst, IL*
Hoag Hospital Newport Beach - Newport Beach, CA
Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital - Houston, TX
Mercy Health - Anderson Hospital - Cincinnati, OH
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City, OK
Mission Regional Medical Center - Mission, TX*
Saint Francis Medical Center - Cape Girardeau, MO
Saint Mary's Hospital - Reno, NV*
Sarasota Memorial Hospital - Sarasota, FL
Silver Cross Hospital - New Lenox, IL
St. Clair Hospital - Pittsburgh, PA
St. David's Medical Center - Austin, TX*
St. David's North Austin Medical Center - Austin, TX
St. Joseph's Hospital - Tampa, FL
Stormont Vail Hospital - Topeka, KS

Medium Community Hospitals

AdventHealth Wesley Chapel - Wesley Chapel, FL
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota - Sarasota, FL
Dublin Methodist Hospital - Dublin, OH
East Liverpool City Hospital - East Liverpool, OH*
IU Health North Hospital - Carmel, IN*
Logan Regional Hospital - Logan, UT
McLaren Northern Michigan - Petoskey, MI
Mercy Iowa City - Iowa City, IA
Mercy Medical Center - Cedar Rapids, IA
MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center - Dubuque, IA
Providence Medical Center - Kansas City, KS*
Sherman Oaks Hospital - Sherman Oaks, CA
South Baldwin Regional Medical Center - Foley, AL
St. Luke's Anderson Campus - Easton, PA
St. Vincent's Medical Center Clay County - Middleburg, FL
Sycamore Medical Center - Miamisburg, OH
Timpanogos Regional Hospital - Orem, UT
UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies - Loveland, CO
West Valley Medical Center - Caldwell, ID
Wooster Community Hospital - Wooster, OH

Small Community Hospitals

Alta View Hospital - Sandy, UT
American Fork Hospital - American Fork, UT
Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha - Kenosha, WI
Baptist Health - Hot Spring County - Malvern, AR
Brigham City Community Hospital - Brigham City, UT
Buffalo Hospital - Buffalo, MN
Cedar City Hospital - Cedar City, UT
Clark Regional Medical Center - Winchester, KY
Lakeview Hospital - Bountiful, UT
Lone Peak Hospital - Draper, UT
Parkview Huntington Hospital - Huntington, IN
Parkview Noble Hospital - Kendallville, IN
Saint Francis Hospital South - Tulsa, OK
Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital - Zeeland, MI
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Centralia - Centralia, IL
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Janesville - Janesville, WI
St. John Owasso Hospital - Owasso, OK
St. Mary's Medical Center - Blue Springs, MO*
Stillwater Medical Center - Stillwater, OK
Sutter Tracy Community Hospital - Tracy, CA

IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems List (by category)

Large Health Systems

Baylor Scott & White Health - Dallas, TX
CHI Health - Omaha, NE
HCA Continental Division - Denver, CO
Kettering Health Network - Dayton, OH
UCHealth - Aurora, CO

Medium Health Systems

Edward-Elmhurst Health - Naperville, IL
HealthPartners - Bloomington, MN
Parkview Health - Fort Wayne, IN
Saint Luke's Health System - Kansas City, MO
St. Luke's Health System - Boise, ID

Small Health Systems

Asante - Medford, OR
Aspirus - Wausau, WI
Genesis Health System - Davenport, IA
Maury Regional Health - Columbia, TN
Saint Alphonsus Health System - Boise, ID

About the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals List

The Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list is determined using independent and objective research to analyze hospital and health system performance. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor or pay to promote their award. Award-winning hospitals and health systems serve as a model of excellence for the industry.

About the IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals Program

The IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals Program's annual studies result in the Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals list, IBM Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals list and IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems list. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor or pay to promote their award. Award-winning hospitals and health systems serve as a model of excellence for the industry. Visit http://www.100tophospitals.com/ for more information.

About IBM Watson Health

IBM Watson Health is a data, analytics, and technology partner for the health industry. Supported by the innovation of IBM and intelligence of Watson, we are committed to helping build smarter health ecosystems. Through the combination of our deep industry expertise in health, data and analytics, actionable insights, and reputation for security and trust, Watson Health is working together with its clients and partners to help them achieve simpler processes, better care insights, faster breakthroughs, and improved experiences for people around the world.

Most Popular Now

Unlocking the 10 Year Health Plan

The government's plan for the NHS is a huge document. Jane Stephenson, chief executive of SPARK TSL, argues the key to unlocking its digital ambitions is to consider what it...

Alcidion Grows Top Talent in the UK, wit…

Alcidion has today announced the addition of three new appointments to their UK-based team, with one internal promotion and two external recruits. Dr Paul Deffley has been announced as the...

AI can Find Cancer Pathologists Miss

Men assessed as healthy after a pathologist analyses their tissue sample may still have an early form of prostate cancer. Using AI, researchers at Uppsala University have been able to...

New Training Year Starts at Siemens Heal…

In September, 197 school graduates will start their vocational training or dual studies in Germany at Siemens Healthineers. 117 apprentices and 80 dual students will begin their careers at Siemens...

AI, Full Automation could Expand Artific…

Automated insulin delivery (AID) systems such as the UVA Health-developed artificial pancreas could help more type 1 diabetes patients if the devices become fully automated, according to a new review...

How AI could Speed the Development of RN…

Using artificial intelligence (AI), MIT researchers have come up with a new way to design nanoparticles that can more efficiently deliver RNA vaccines and other types of RNA therapies. After training...

MIT Researchers Use Generative AI to Des…

With help from artificial intelligence, MIT researchers have designed novel antibiotics that can combat two hard-to-treat infections: drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae and multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Using generative AI algorithms, the research...

AI Hybrid Strategy Improves Mammogram In…

A hybrid reading strategy for screening mammography, developed by Dutch researchers and deployed retrospectively to more than 40,000 exams, reduced radiologist workload by 38% without changing recall or cancer detection...

Penn Developed AI Tools and Datasets Hel…

Doctors treating kidney disease have long depended on trial-and-error to find the best therapies for individual patients. Now, new artificial intelligence (AI) tools developed by researchers in the Perelman School...

Are You Eligible for a Clinical Trial? C…

A new study in the academic journal Machine Learning: Health discovers that ChatGPT can accelerate patient screening for clinical trials, showing promise in reducing delays and improving trial success rates. Researchers...

Global Study Reveals How Patients View M…

How physicians feel about artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine has been studied many times. But what do patients think? A team led by researchers at the Technical University of Munich...

New AI Tool Addresses Accuracy and Fairn…

A team of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has developed a new method to identify and reduce biases in datasets used to train machine-learning algorithms...