HEALTHGRADES RECOGNIZES TOP U.S. HOSPITALS FOR EXCELLENCE ACROSS 17 SPECIALTY CARE AREAS

News provided by

Oct 25, 2022, 08:00 ET

DENVER, Oct. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthgrades, the leading resource consumers use to find a doctor or hospital, today announced the recipients of Healthgrades 2023 Specialty Excellence Awards and Five-Star Specialty Care Ratings. This year's awards recognize hospitals with superior clinical performance in 17 specialty care areas, including cardiac surgery, critical care, and orthopedic surgery.

For this annual analysis, Healthgrades evaluated patient mortality and complication rates at nearly 4,500 hospitals to determine the national leaders in 17 specialty care areas for 2023. To help consumers find the best care for their needs, Healthgrades uses star ratings and awards to identify the top-performing hospitals for specialty care. The ratings assess hospital performance across 33 common procedures and conditions.* For Specialty Excellence, three awards recognize superior clinical performance in specialty care:

Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Award^TM - the top 5% or 10% of hospitals for 17 different specialty care areas
America's 100 Best Hospitals for Specialty Care^TM
America's 50 Best Hospitals for Specialty Care^TM

To complement the 2023 Specialty Excellence Awards and Ratings, Healthgrades published a 2023 Specialty Excellence Report for Hospitals. This year's special report provides valuable insight into some of the biggest challenges facing hospitals and how new data from Healthgrades can support their efforts to deliver outstanding outcomes in 2023. Read the full report to learn more.

"We commend the recognized hospitals for their ongoing commitment to high-quality specialty care," said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Data Science, Healthgrades. "Healthgrades 2023 Specialty Excellence Awards and Ratings showcase hospitals around the country that deliver consistently exceptional patient outcomes in a given medical specialty."

To further assist people in their search for outstanding specialty care, Healthgrades released a consumer-friendly overview of our complete awards methodology. By offering easy access to objective measures of performance, Healthgrades gives consumers the information they need to find a hospital with a five-star rating in the specialty area they need. And as the gap between one-star and five-star performers continues to widen, the ability to evaluate hospital quality has never been more important. In fact, from 2019-2021, patients treated in five-star hospitals had, on average:

Heart Attack	50.1% lower risk of dying while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals with one-star.**
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)	89.5% lower risk of dying while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals with one-star.**
Total Knee Replacement	77.3% lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals with one-star.**
Back and Neck Surgery (except Spinal Fusion)	80.0% lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals with one-star.**

"While most consumers do their research before choosing a doctor, very few consider the quality of the hospital where they will be treated. When it comes to specialty care, it's crucial not only to find the right doctor, but to ensure the doctor practices at a hospital that excels in the condition or procedure for which you require treatment," said Burt Kann, EVP and Head of Product at Healthgrades. "This year's Specialty Excellence Awards and Ratings empower consumers to make informed choices about where to find best-in-class specialty care."

With tools like hospital ratings and awards, Healthgrades takes the guesswork out of choosing a hospital with top-notch specialty care services–a decision that can mean the difference between life and death. To view the full list of 2023 Specialty Excellence Award recipients, click here.

*To be eligible for a Specialty Excellence Award, hospitals must receive a rating in one or more of the 33 procedures and conditions included in the determination of the award. Some awards, like the Bariatric Surgery Excellence Award™, are based on a single procedure–bariatric surgery–while others, such as the Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award™, are based on a grouping of three procedures: hip fracture treatment, total knee replacement, and total hip replacement. To learn more about Healthgrades ratings and awards determination process, see the 2023 Specialty Excellence Awards and Ratings Methodology.

**Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2019 through 2021 and represent three-year estimates for Medicare patients only. For appendectomy and bariatric surgery, Healthgrades used inpatient data from 16 states that provide all-payer data for years 2018 through 2020.

About Healthgrades

Healthgrades is dedicated to empowering stronger and more meaningful connections between patients and healthcare professionals. As the #1 platform for finding a doctor and as a leader in healthcare transparency, we help millions of consumers each month find and schedule appointments with their healthcare professional of choice and prepare for their appointments with best-in-class, treatment-focused content.

Our health system, healthcare professional, and life sciences marketing solutions have been helping our partners reach and engage consumers who are on their way to the doctor for over 20 years.

Start your search for the right care at healthgrades.com.

SOURCE Healthgrades