CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM Watson Health™ (NYSE: IBM) today published its 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals™ annual study identifying top U.S. hospitals for inpatient cardiovascular services based on a balanced national scorecard of hospital performance metrics. The Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study, formerly the Truven Health Analytics^® 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study, has been conducted since 1998.

This year's study included 989 US hospitals with cardiovascular service lines. Based on comparisons between the study winners and a peer group of similar hospitals in the study, the winners delivered better outcomes while operating more efficiently and at a lower cost. Extrapolating the results of this year's study, if all Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities:

• More than 11,000 additional lives could be saved;
• More than 2,800 additional heart patients could be complication-free; and
• Over $1.5 billion could be saved.

"By finding ways to continuously improve and innovate, the winners of our 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study are identifying opportunities to deliver healthcare value to patients, communities, and payers," said Ekta Punwani, MHA, 100 Top Hospitals® program leader at IBM Watson Health. "The top performing hospitals demonstrated better clinical care and were more efficient than their peers at delivering this care."

Kyu Rhee, M.D., M.P.P., vice president and chief health officer at IBM Watson Health, added: "Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women¹ and numerous health disparities exist in heart health.² When patients and families confront this disease, it is essential to find the right system and provider for you or your loved ones to ensure the best cardiovascular care.  Our data-driven study highlights top hospitals that have achieved an outstanding balance of clinical and operational excellence in a complex healthcare landscape. In addition to showcasing the best in heart health, we believe that our study provides attainable and actionable benchmarks for hospital leaders across the country, as they work to raise their own organizations' standards of performance."

Following are some of the key performance benchmarks set by this year's Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals:

• Significantly Higher Inpatient Survival: Winning hospitals had significantly higher inpatient survival rates (28.7% to 47.4% higher).
• Fewer Complications: The 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals achieved 6.3 to 27.7 percent fewer patients with complications.
• Lower Cost: $1,485 to $6,704 less in total costs per patient case (the smallest difference was for HF, and the largest was for CABG).
• Lower Average 30-day Episode of Care Payments for AMI and HF ($1,323 and $706 less per episode, respectively).

Teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs*
Beaumont Hospital - Troy, Troy, MI 
Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre, PA
Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, CA 
Kettering Medical Center, Kettering, OH
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington, MA 
Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood, PA 
Mayo Clinic Hospital - Saint Marys Hospital, Rochester, MN 
OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, OH
St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, Indianapolis, IN 
Summa Akron City Hospital, Akron, OH 
UAB Hospital, Birmingham, AL
UNC Rex Healthcare, Raleigh, NC 
University Hospital, Madison, WI 
Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Camden, NJ 
WakeMed Raleigh Campus, Raleigh, NC

Teaching hospitals without cardiovascular residency programs*
Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Wausau, WI 
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Hillcrest, Waco, TX 
CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System, Texarkana, TX 
Halifax Health Medical Center, Daytona Beach, FL 
Holston Valley Medical Center, Kingsport, TN 
Lee Memorial Hospital/HealthPark Medical Center (LMH/HPMC), Fort Myers, FL 
MacNeal Hospital, Berwyn, IL 
Mercy General Hospital, Sacramento, CA 
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, Des Moines, IA 
Mission Hospital, Asheville, NC 
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital, Tacoma, WA 
North Mississippi Medical Center, Tupelo, MS
PIH Health Hospital – Whittier, Whittier, CA 
Sacred Heart Hospital, Pensacola, FL 
St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI 

Community hospitals
Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, Medford, OR
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Round Rock, Round Rock, TX
Bellin Health, Green Bay, WI
Carolinas Medical Center Mercy-Pineville, Charlotte, NC
Columbus Regional Hospital, Columbus, IN
Doylestown Hospital, Doylestown, PA
Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, Idaho Falls, ID
Harlingen Medical Center, Harlingen, TX
Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg, VA
McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital, Petoskey, MI
Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center, Reno, NV
Salem Hospital, Salem, OR
San Antonio Regional Hospital, Upland, CA
Sentara RMH Medical Center, Harrisonburg, VA
Shasta Regional Medical Center, Redding, CA
St. David's Medical Center, Austin, TX
St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana, Indianapolis, IN
Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, Thibodaux, LA
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson, MD
Wake Forest Baptist Health High Point Medical Center, High Point, NC

About IBM Watson Health

Watson Health is a business unit of IBM that is dedicated to the development and implementation of cognitive and data-driven technologies to advance health. Watson Health technologies are tackling a wide range of the world's biggest health care challenges, including cancer, diabetes, drug discovery and more. Learn more.

About the IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® Program
The IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals program uses 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 prove that better care is possible and provide an example for other organizations to follow across the industry. The 100 Top Hospitals award winners demonstrate top performance on both how patients are cared for under clinical measures and how the hospital performs as an efficient business. 100 Top Hospitals is a registered trademark of IBM. Visit 100tophospitals.com for more information.

MEDIA CONTACT

IBM Watson Health
Rachel Ford Hutman
rachel.hutman@ibm.com
301-801-5540

¹  https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm 
² https://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/ConsumerHealthCare/Health-Equity-Eliminating-Bias-by-Age-Ethnicity-Gender-and-More_UCM_444722_Article.jsp; https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/science/health-disparities-and-inequities

SOURCE IBM Watson Health