No one disputes that there is variation in care and outcomes in the US and that variation manifests in many, many different ways. Most of us have been staring that variance in the eye for well over two decades. Some of us have even been doing something about it on a national scale.

One way to look at variation is to study Medicare spending per capita and to declare that if spending is high, and not justified by outcomes (controlling for age, gender, and other socio-economic factors) that it is a bad thing, and most might agree. It sounds logical and consistently plays out for the dozen or so years that the Dartmouth Atlas Project has been pushing for reform. Same model, same results no surprise there.

Others, especially those who build systems, collect data for analysis, test hypothesis, build models, teach physicians about variance and get their hands dirty every day with the “change” thing, know that the “stick approach” is nothing other than bad policy. What they also object to is the abject approach that if the spending says so then it is true!

I don’t have to cite examples of government data and research that points to illogical spending, reimbursement or taxation for that matter to make my point any more clear.

The simple point gentlemen is that there is no one single thing that makes McAllen,  East Long Island, Grand Junction or Rochester exceptionally good or bad, except that they are at similar points on some researchers pole that doesn’t adjust for all variables.

The reason that there is a Blog on The Hospital Value Index site is to also bring awareness to the multi-variant points of light that make health care unique from one place setting to another.  The more we refine the analyses, and the better the data and methodology become, the closer we get to root cause. But until then, let’s stay focused on some key factors; utilization, safety, satisfaction, process measures, risk adjustment for case severity, efficiency, outcomes  and price (and maybe a few other things) all matter! AND when building models and drawing conclusions it is more helpful to have complete, current and accurate data! GIGO is what we once called it, “garbage in, garbage out”.

Where the rubber hits the road is not with the researcher’s ego and political affiliation or even source of funding and grants, but with what we all can learn and deploy when we working stiffs go into hospitals and try to re-train the physicians and staff; most of whom weren’t taught anything about economics while they were studying for their Board certification. It may be just that easy…or not!

If you have a better point to make, go build something like RWJ funded at Dartmouth, or invest a couple million dollars and try to create your own engine like we did. I personally appreciate your contributions and look forward to your results.

John R. Morrow

Founder: The Hospital Value Index™, 100 Top Hospitals:Benchmarks for Success®, The Patient Satisfaction Index™

NASHVILLE, Tenn. –Today, Data Advantage, LLC announced the names of hospitals receiving the Best in
Value: Superior Affordability & Efficiency Merit Award™ from the 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index™, the
first and only national study on U.S. hospitals and the value of care they provide. 

The Superior Affordability & Efficiency Merit Award™ showcases hospitals that deliver affordable, high
quality care to their communities with high patient satisfaction. Hospitals in economically diverse
markets, such as New York, Pennsylvania and Alabama, indicate success on all fronts and dominate this
Merit Award list. Interestingly, no hospitals from California made the list. 

“The American Hospital Association recently revealed that profitability at community hospitals is
decreasing,” “Even so, hospitals like the Affordability &
Efficiency Merit Award winners are able to prevail in an economic downturn by operating their hospitals
efficiently. In doing so, this group is able to provide their patient communities with affordable
healthcare.” 

“With upcoming health reform legislation and the insolvency of the Medicare trust fund in 2017,
hospitals can expect continuous pressures on reimbursement. It will be increasingly important for
hospitals to deliver high-quality care in an efficient manner,”. 

The Hospital Value Index™ is an independent analysis of each hospital’s performance in the categories
of: quality, affordability & efficiency and patient satisfaction. Out of the more than 4,500 hospitals that
were analyzed, 75 received the Superior Affordability & Efficiency Merit Award for achieving high marks
in the affordability & efficiency category. 

In order to receive the award, hospitals were first considered as Best in Value™, or in the top 25 percent
of all hospitals when considering quality and patient satisfaction. The top 10 percent of this group were
then recognized in the affordability & efficiency category in order to receive the Superior Affordability &
Efficiency Merit Award™. 

“The Affordability & Efficiency Merit Award™ hospitals exhibit some remarkable results,” said John R.
Morrow a founder of the Hospital Value Index™ study. “These hospitals improved their scores on
average by 18.58% representing the top ten percent of all hospitals in the study, while those in the
bottom ten percent on average saw a decrease of 23.51% in their affordability and efficiency scores.”
“These improvements reflect both a reduction of costs and a decrease in prices charged for the market
basket of services. This reveals a progressive and enhanced value proposition that these hospitals
deliver to their local communities every day,” Morrow added. 

In alphabetical order, the Superior Affordability and Efficiency Merit Award recipients from the 2009-
2010 Hospital Value Index™ study are: 

• ACMH Hospital – Kittanning, PA
• Alle-Kiski Medical Center – Natrona Heights, PA
• Anson General Hospital – Anson, TX
• Arkansas Methodist Medical Center –Paragould, AR
• Arnot Ogden Medical Center – Elmira, NY
• Bertrand Chaffee Hospital – Springville, NY
• Billings Clinic – Billings, MT
• Bourbon Community Hospital – Paris, KY
• Bristow Medical Center – Bristow, OK
• Brooks Memorial Hospital – Dunkirk, NY
• Butler Memorial Hospital – Butler, PA
• Canton-Potsdam Hospital – Potsdam, NY
• Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center – Ogdensburg, NY
• Clifton Springs Hospital and Clinic – Clifton Springs, NY
• Community Hospital – Tallassee, AL
• Decatur General Hospital – Decatur, AL
• DuBois Regional Medical Center – DuBois, PA
• East Texas Medical Center Crockett – Crockett, TX
• Five Rivers Medical Center – Pocahontas, AR
• Gilmore Memorial Hospital – Amory, MS
• Graham Regional Medical Center – Graham, TX
• Greenbrier Valley Medical Center – Ronceverte, WV
• Hamilton General Hospital – Hamilton, TX
• Helen Keller Memorial Hospital – Sheffield, AL
• Heritage Valley Beaver – Beaver, PA
• Heritage Valley Sewickley – Sewickley, PA
• Highland Hospital – Rochester, NY
• Iberia General Hospital and Medical Center – New Iberia, LA
• Ira Davenport Memorial Hospital – Bath, NY
• Jameson Memorial Hospital – New Castle, PA
• Jamestown Hospital – Jamestown, ND
• Jellico Community Hospital – Jellico, TN
• Jennings American Legion Hospital – Jennings, LA
• Jones Memorial Hospital – Wellsville, NY
• Kenmore Mercy Hospital – Buffalo, NY
• Lakeland Community Hospital – Haleyville, AL
• Lakeside Memorial Hospital – Brockport, NY
• Livingston Regional Hospital – Livingston, TN
• Marion General Hospital – Columbia, MS
• Marshall Medical Center South – Boaz, AL
• McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital – Oxford, OH
• Medcenter One – Bismarck. ND
• Mercy Hospital – Buffalo, NY
• Meritcare Health System – Fargo, ND
• Minden Medical Center Inc – Minden, LA
• Monroe County Hospital – Monroeville, AL
• Morehead Memorial Hospital – Eden, NC
• Nason Hospital – Roaring Spring, PA
• Nicholas H. Noyes Memorial Hospital – Dansville, NY
• Northern Hospital of Surry County – Mount Airy, NC
• Northwest Medical Center – Winfield, AL
• Pauls Valley General Hospital – Pauls Valley, OK
• Punxsutawney Area Hospital – Punxsutawney, PA
• Roane Medical Center – Harriman, TN
• Rochester General Hospital – Rochester, NY
• Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital – Sweetwater, TX
• Southeast Alabama Medical Center – Dothan, AL
• St. Alexius Medical Center – Bismarck, ND
• St. Bernard’s Medical Center – Jonesboro, AR
• St. Clair Memorial Hospital – Pittsburgh, PA
• St. Francis Hospital – Charleston, WV
• St. Joseph’s Hospital Yonkers –Yonkers, NY
• St. Mary’s Hospital at Amsterdam – Amsterdam, NY
• St. Mary’s Medical Center of Campbell County – La Follette, TN
• Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital – Weston, WV
• Takoma Regional Hospital – Greeneville, TN
• Tawas St Joseph Hospital – Tawas City, MI
• Taylor Regional Hospital – Hawkinsville, GA
• Uniontown Hospital – Uniontown, PA
• Unity Hospital of Rochester – Rochester, NY
• UPMC Bedford – Everett, PA
• Weirton Medical Center – Weirton, WV
• Wheeling Hospital – Wheeling, WV
• Williamson Memorial Hospital – Williamson, WV
• Woman’s Christian Association – Jamestown, NY
 

For more information on the Voices of Value™ and the Best in Value™ hospitals, please visit
www.HospitalValueIndex.com. 

Note: In order for hospitals to publicize results, including the use of this news release, hospitals must
obtain written approval from Data Advantage. To do so, please contact Araby Thornewill at 866-996-
3282.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ‐ Data Advantage, LLC announced today 75 hospitals receiving a Best in Value™: Superior Quality Merit Award from the 2009‐2010 Hospital Value Index™ the first and only national study on U.S. hospitals and the value of care they provide.

The 2009‐2010 Hospital Value Index™is an independent analysis of each hospital’s performance in the categories of: quality, affordability & efficiency and patient satisfaction. Out of the more than 4,500 hospitals that were analyzed, 75 received the Superior Quality Merit Award for achieving high marks in the quality category.

“This group of hospitals has a proven ability to deliver high quality care, a key element in providing overall value to their communities,” “Our study suggests that hospitals that achieve outstanding scores in the area of quality will be rewarded in the new world of Value‐Based Purchasing, so each of these hospitals is off to a good start.”

The quality category is analyzed using data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Core Measures, AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators, CMS 30‐day mortality scores and CMS reported hospital readmission rates. In order to receive the award, hospitals were first considered as Best in Value™ or in the top 25 percent of all hospitals in the study. The top 10 percent of this group were then ranked in the quality category in order to receive the Superior Quality Merit Award.

“The Hospital Value Index™ study found that all hospitals recognized as Best in Value™ improved their quality scores by an average of 8.14% since March 2009, while those that were not recognized as Best in Value™ saw a drop in quality by 1.1% during the same term,” said John Morrow, a founder of the Hospital Value Index™ study.

“Quality continues to improve in high value hospitals, and these Merit Award recipients are being recognized for their exceptional quality performance,” Morrow added.

In alphabetical order, the Superior Quality Merit Award recipients from the 2009‐2010 Hospital Value Index™study are:

• Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital (Downers Grove, IL)
• Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center (Omaha, NE)
• Alegent Health Lakeside Hospital (Omaha, NE)
• Alegent Health Mercy Hospital (Council Bluffs, IA)
• Alegent Health Midlands Hospital (Papillion, NE)
• Arnot Ogden Medical Center (Elmira, NY)
• Aurora Baycare Medical Center (Green Bay, WI)
• Ball Memorial Hospital (Muncie, IN)
• Baylor Medical Center at Irving (Irving, TX)
• Berger Hospital (Circleville, OH)
• Berkshire Medical Center (Pittsfield, MA)
• Bon Secours-Memorial Regional Medical (Mechanicsville, VA)
• Carolinas Medical Center‐University (Charlotte, NC)
• Centra Health (Lynchburg, VA)
• Clara Maass Medical Center (Belleville, NJ)
• Cleveland Clinic Florida (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
• Community Medical Center (Toms River, NJ)
• Cullman Regional Medical Center (Cullman, AL)
• Delray Medical Center (Delray Beach, FL)
• Evanston Hospital (Evanston, IL)
• Flowers Hospital (Dothan, AL)
• Forsyth Memorial Hospital (Winston
• Fort Madison Community Hospital (Fort Madison, IA)
• Fremont Area Medical Center (Fremont, NE)
• Gaston Memorial Hospital (Gastonia, NC)
• Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center (West Islip, NY)
• Goshen General Hospital (Goshen, IN)
• Hackensack University Medical Center (Hackensack, NJ)
• Hackettstown Regional Medical Center (Hackettstown, NJ)
• Harlingen Medical Center (Harlingen, TX)
• Heartland Regional Medical Center (Saint Joseph, MO)
• Holland Community Hospital (Holland, MI)
• Holy Name Hospital (Teaneck, NJ)
• Huntington Beach Hospital (Huntington Beach, CA)
• Integris Mayes County Medical Center (Pryor, OK)
• Jackson Purchase Medical Center (Mayfield, KY)
• Kettering Medical Center (Dayton, OH)
• Kettering Medical Center‐Sycamore (Miamisburg, OH)
• Kingwood Medical Center (Kingwood, TX)
• La Palma Intercommunity Hospital (La Palma, CA)
• Main Line Hospital Bryn Mawr Campus (Bryn Mawr, PA)
• Mariners Hospital (Tavernier, FL)
• Meadowview Regional Medical Center (Maysville, KY)
• Memorial Hospital Pembroke (Hollywood, FL)
• Memorial Regional Hospital (Hollywood, FL)
• Mercy Medical Center‐Dubuque (Dubuque, IA)
• Mercy San Juan Medical Center (Carmichael, CA)
• Minden Medical Center (Minden, LA)
• Moberly Regional Medical Center (Moberly, MO)
• Munson Medical Center (Traverse City, MI)
• Newport Hospital (Newport, RI)
• North Ottawa Community Hospital (Grand Haven, MI)
• Oklahoma Heart Hospital (Oklahoma City, OK)
• Owatonna Hospital (Owatonna, MN)
• Parkway Medical Center (Decatur, AL)
• Peninsula Medical Center (Burlingame, CA)
• Presbyterian Hospital (Charlotte, NC)
• Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville (Huntersville, NC)
• Reid Hospital and Health Care Services (Richmond, IN)
• Saint Joseph Hospital London (London, KY)
• Saint Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital (Saline, MI)
• St. Charles Hospital (Port Jefferson, NY)
• St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center (Sioux City, IA)
• St. Mary’s Health Center (Jefferson City, MO)
• Summa Health System Barberton Hospital (Barberton, OH)
• Sutter Roseville Medical Center (Roseville, CA)
• Tawas St. Joseph Hospital (Tawas City, MI)
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne (Cleburne, TX)
• United Hospital Center (Clarksburg , WV)
• Vassar Brothers Medical Center (Poughkeepsie, NY)
• Venice Regional Medical Center (Venice, FL)
• Walker Baptist Medical Center (Jasper, AL)
• Walla Walla General Hospital (Walla Walla, WA)
• West Anaheim Medical Center (Anaheim, CA)
• Williamsport Hospital and Medical Center (Williamsport, PA)

For more information on the Voices of Value™and the Best in Value™hospitals, please visit www.HospitalValueIndex.com.

About Data Advantage, LLC

Data Advantage, LLC is a privately held healthcare information company that specializes in providing hospitals and other healthcare ‐related businesses with independent and objective business intelligence. The company has aggregated and compiled a warehouse of the most insightful information about healthcare utilization and maintains comprehensive benchmarks about the financial, operational and clinical performance of the U.S. hospital industry. For more information, visit www.data‐advantage.com or call 866‐996‐3282.

100 Top Best in Value(TM) Hospitals

Hospitals in New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Alabama and North Carolina cited the most

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) ‐ Data Advantage, LLC announced today the Top 100 Hospital: Best in Value Hospitals™ list from the 2009‐2010 Hospital Value Index™, the first and only national study on U.S. hospitals and the value of care they provide.

The hospitals in the Top 100 list represent nearly every state in the U.S. The states with the most hospitals achieving Top 100 Best in Value™ recognition were: New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Alabama and North Carolina.

“These are the hospitals that set the bar for the nation when it comes to value. If every hospital performed at the level of the Top 100, we found that more than $60 billion per year could be saved,”.

“The Hospital Value Index™ winners are a geographically diverse group of hospitals that have a proven ability to deliver high value care to their communities and represent a model of care that other U.S. hospitals should look to,” . “As legislators consider health reform, we believe that it will be increasingly important to recognize and reward those hospitals that deliver outstanding value.”

These results are part of the findings from the 2009‐2010 Hospital Value Index™ study, an analysis of the value of care provided at more than 4,500 U.S. hospitals. As part of the release, Data Advantage is inviting hospitals and healthcare leaders to participate in the Voices of Value™ Summit, which will take place in Chicago December 7‐9. Industry leaders will convene at the Westin Chicago River North and discuss topics such as value, affordability, efficiency and patient satisfaction.

• Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center (Omaha, NE)
• Alegent Health Mercy Hospital (Council Bluffs, IA)
• Alegent Health Midlands Hospital (Papillion, NE)
• Alleghany Regional Hospital (Low Moor, VA)
• Arnot Ogden Medical Center (Elmira, NY)
• Berkshire Medical Center (Pittsfield, MA)
• Bertrand Chaffee Hospital (Springville, NY)
• Billings Clinic (Billings, MT)
• Bon Secours ‐Memorial Regional Medical (Mechanicsville, VA)
• Butler Memorial Hospital (Butler, PA)
• Carolinas Med Center‐Mercy (Charlotte, NC)
• Carolinas Med Center‐University (Charlotte, NC)
• Carolinas Medical Center‐Northeast (Concord, NC)
• Centra Health (Lynchburg, VA)
• Chelsea Community Hospital (Chelsea, MI)
• Citizens Medical Center (Victoria, TX)
• Clinch Valley Medical Center (Richlands, VA)
• Cobleskill Regional Hospital (Cobleskill, NY)
• Community Medical Center (Toms River, NJ)
• Connally Memorial Medical Center (Floresville, TX)
• Cullman Regional Medical Center (Cullman, AL)
• Dixie Regional Medical Center (Saint George, UT)
• Dubois Regional Medical Center (Du Bois, PA)
• Flowers Hospital (Dothan, AL)
• Forsyth Memorial Hospital (Winston Salem, NC)
• Fort Madison Community Hospital (Fort Madison, IA)
• Gaston Memorial Hospital (Gastonia, NC)
• Graham Regional Medical Center (Graham, TX)
• Greenbrier Valley Medical Center (Ronceverte, WV)
• Hamilton General Hospital (Hamilton, TX)
• Heart Hospital of Lafayette (Lafayette, LA)
• Heartland Regional Medical Center (Saint Joseph, MO)
• Henry Ford Macomb Hospital (Clinton Township, MI)
• Heritage Valley Sewickley (Sewickley, PA)
• Holland Community Hospital (Holland, MI)
• Integris Mayes County Medical Center (Pryor, OK)
• Jackson Purchase Medical Center (Mayfield, KY)
• Jefferson Regional Medical Center (Crystal City, MO)
• Kettering Medical Center (Dayton, OH)
• Kettering Medical Center –Sycamore (Miamisburg, OH)
• Lakeside Memorial Hospital (Brockport, NY)
• Lakeview Med Center (Rice Lake, WI)
• McCullough‐Hyde Memorial Hospital (Oxford, OH)
• Meadowview Regional Medical Center (Maysville, KY)
• Medical Center Enterprise (Enterprise, AL)
• Memorial Regional Hospital (Hollywood, FL)
• Mercy Health Partners Hackley Campus (Muskegon, MI)
• Mercy Health Partners‐ Mercy Campus (Muskegon, MI)
• Mercy Medical Center (Des Moines, IA)
• Mercy Medical Center‐Dubuque (Dubuque, IA)
• Methodist Medical Center of Illinois (Peoria, IL)
• Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge, TN)
• Minden Medical Center (Minden, LA)
• Monroe County Hospital (Monroeville, AL)
• Montgomery Regional Hospital (Blacksburg, VA)
• Mount St. Mary’s Hospital and Health Center (Lewiston, NY)
• Nebraska Heart Hospital (Lincoln, NE)
• Northwest Medical Center (Winfield, AL)
• Oklahoma Heart Hospital (Oklahoma City, OK)
• Owatonna Hospital (Owatonna, MN)
• Paradise Valley Hospital (National City, CA)
• Parkway Medical Center (Decatur, AL)
• Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville (Huntersville, NC)
• Redmond Regional Medical Center (Rome, GA)
• Reid Hospital & Health Care Services (Richmond, IN)
• Rochester General Hospital (Rochester, NY)
• Saint Joseph Hospital (London, KY)
• Saint Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital (Saline, MI)
• Saint Vincent Health Center (Erie, PA)
• Saint Vincent Hospital (Worcester, MA)
• Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center (Mattoon, IL)
• Spectrum Health United Memorial ‐United Campus (Greenville, MI)
• St. Alexius Medical Center (Bismarck, ND)
• St. Anthony Hospital (Oklahoma City, OK)
• St. Anthony Regional Hospital (Carroll, IA)
• St. Charles Hospital (Port Jefferson, NY)
• St. Francis Health Center (Topeka, KS)
• St. Joseph Health Center (Warren, OH)
• St Josephs Hospital (Chippewa Falls, WI)
• St. Josephs Mercy Health Center (Hot Springs, AR)
• St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center (Sioux City, IA)
• St. Mary’s Health Center (Jefferson City, MO)
• St. Mary’s Hospital at Amsterdam (Amsterdam, NY)
• St. Vincent Healthcare (Billings, MT)
• Tawas St. Joseph Hospital (Tawas City, MI)
• Thomasville Medical Center (Thomasville, NC)
• Trinity Hospitals (Minot, ND)
• United Hospital Center (Clarksburg, WV)
• Unity Hospital of Rochester (Rochester, NY)
• UPMC McKeesport (McKeesport, PA)
• UPMC Northwest (Seneca, PA)
• UPMC Passavant (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Venice Regional Medical Center (Venice, FL)
• Walker Baptist Medical Center (Jasper, AL)
• Wesley Medical Center (Hattiesburg, MS)
• West Anaheim Medical Center (Anaheim, CA)
• Western Baptist Hospital (Paducah, KY)
• Wheeling Hospital (Wheeling, WV)
• White River Medical Center (Batesville, AR)
• Williamsport Hospital Medical Center (Williamsport, PA)

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Medical Center has been ranked first in both the state and New England in a nationwide study conducted by a Tennessee firm that measures health-care value.

Nationally, BMC was ranked 86th out of the 4,500 hospitals that were considered for the 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index by Data Advantage LLC of Nashville, a privately held health-care information company that has specialized in providing the healthcare and business communities with independent and objective information about the country’s hospital industry since 1992.

Only acute-care general service hospitals that participate in the Medicare reimbursement program were considered for the Hospital Value Index, said Data Advantage’s senior adviser John Morrow. Specialty hospitals, veterans hospitals, and private health organizations that don’t participate in federal programs were excluded, he said.

The rankings are based on each hospital’s quality, affordability, efficiency and patient satisfaction performance under the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) regulations. BMC received high marks in all four of those areas. The index is designed to use only objective, verifiable, and quantitative data that are consistent and complete across the country to ensure objective measurement rather than anecdotal evidence, according to Data Advantage.

Berkshire Health Systems Chief Operating Officer Diane Kelly said BMC’s ranking is the culmination of a “10-year journey” that began when BMC’s board of directors and president and CEO David Phelps made a commitment to quality that began when Gray Ellrodt was hired as chair of medicine a decade ago.

“What’s different and exciting about this award is that it has a strong component in quality of care, which is really the mission and purpose of everything that we do here at BMC,” Kelly said. “I’m happy to see that we have valuation from external organizations such as the index not just in top performance in quality, but having done so in a cost-effective manner, which is critical for any health-care system.”

“These national achievements for Berkshire Medical Center are a testament to the dedication of our medical staff, employees, trustees, and leadership team, and reinforce our commitment to providing the highest level of quality care for our patients,” Phelps said in a written statement.

This is the third time that Data Advantage has compiled the Hospital Value Index, but only the second time it has released the rankings publicly, Morrow said. The company’s previous rankings were focused on hospitals that are located in the country’s 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas.

“I don’t know off the top of my head if we ranked BMC previously,” Morrow said. “In the previous rendition, we didn’t rank and report on the findings, but in this rendition we did because we had expanded the analysis to include many, many more markets.”

Before the advent of the Hospital Index, no public measurement existed to integrate efficiency, affordability and quality, Ellrodt said.

“In my mind what’s exciting about this award and the Data Advantage approach is to be able to look at quality and at what cost,” Ellrodt said. “This is a big discussion in Congress right now, value.”

To reach Tony Dobrowolski:
TDobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com
or (413) 496-6224

Hospital Value Index™ reveals 747 hospitals leading the way in delivering affordable, quality care  

Top Findings: America’s best hospital value often found in smaller towns, Midwest states

The 2009‐2010 Hospital Value Index™ ranked hospitals by an independent analysis of each hospital’s quality, affordability, efficiency and patient satisfaction performance. Out of the more than 4,500 hospitals that were analyzed, 747 were identified as providing the Best in Value™ care.

Key findings in the Hospital Value Index™ include:

• The highest value hospital care is often provided by community‐based hospitals, suggesting that consumers may find high value close to home and that policymakers should expand their search for models of reform beyond “name‐brand” teaching hospitals.

• If all hospitals in the U.S. performed at the average benchmark for the Best in Value™ hospitals, 9.3% of costs, or approximately $60B, could be eliminated from annual hospital spending on an all‐payer basis.

• The highest ranked hospitals in the study are geographically diverse, with the top 10 hospitals located in Dothan, AL; Minden, LA; Tawas City, MI; Clarksburg, WV; Gastonia, NC; Maysville, KY; Elmira, NY; Mechanicsville, VA; Holland, MI; and Winston‐Salem, NC.

• Of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., the highest ranked markets are Charlotte, NC, Rochester, NY, Grand Rapids, MI, Pittsburgh, PA and Knoxville, TN. Markets with a population of less than 2,000,000 outperformed markets with a population of more than 2,000,000.

• There was no appreciable difference in performance between teaching hospitals and nonteaching hospitals.

• The study found that the top five states with hospitals delivering high value are North Dakota, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and Maine. The bottom five states for finding hospitals providing high value care are New Mexico, Arkansas, California, Hawaii and Nevada.

• The study found the gaps in hospital value can be dramatic. In one example, the study found the cost for the same medical procedure provided with the same quality of care at hospitals less than two miles apart can be more than $10,000.

The full findings of the study – and market by market rankings of hospital value performance – areavailable to the public for free at www.HospitalValueIndex.com.

Health reform

“As legislators consider health reform and as consumers shoulder an increasing burden of the cost of healthcare, it is important to recognize and reward those hospitals that deliver outstanding value,” said John Morrow, a senior advisor to Data Advantage.

“Healthcare consumers are increasingly making decisions based on value including quality, patient satisfaction and affordability. Hospitals providing the best value will ultimately be rewarded with more business.”

One of the prominent initiatives in health reform is Value‐Based Purchasing, which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) first recommended in November 2007. According to CMS, Value‐Based Purchasing will “drive improvements in clinical quality, patient‐centeredness and efficiency” in hospitals.

“The Hospital Value Index™ is the first‐ever and only benchmark to analyze these components to help hospitals understand their value proposition,” . “In Value‐Based Purchasing, hospitals will likely be reimbursed based on the overall value that they deliver, and it is essential for hospitals to understand the areas in which improvements are needed. Regardless of the ultimate scope of reform, it is clear that the future of the American economy depends upon value becoming the key determinant in purchasing healthcare.”

The Hospital Value Index™ defines a hospital’s “value” by its success in four critical areas:
Quality, including CMS’s Core Measures, patient safety, mortality and readmission rates;
• Efficiency, including the relative measure of the cost to the hospital for providing services;
• Affordability, a relative comparison of prices charged for inpatient and outpatient services, including what hospitals ultimately collect; and
• Patient satisfaction as measured by HCAHPS.
 

Study summit
In the study, Data Advantage found many hospitals in every state that are providing exceptional value in an increasingly demanding environment. The Best in Value™ hospitals are urban and rural; teaching and non‐teaching; for‐profit and not‐for‐profit.

“Now, more than ever, it is important to identify those hospitals that have achieved excellent results,” said Morrow. “These hospitals are the models for success under health reform.”
In order to discover the keys to delivering high value, Data Advantage will host the Voices of Value™ Summit in December, where Hospital Value Index™ leaders will discuss and share best practices in achieving and providing value in this new era.

Data Advantage will reveal more details on the Voices of Value ™ Summit in the coming weeks, and additional comments from the Voices of Value™ participants can be found below.

About Data Advantage, LLC
Data Advantage, LLC is a privately held healthcare information company that specializes in providing hospitals and other healthcare‐related businesses with independent and objective business intelligence. The company has aggregated and compiled a warehouse of the most insightful information about healthcare utilization and maintains comprehensive benchmarks about the financial, operational and clinical performance of the U.S. hospital industry. For more information, visit www.data‐advantage.com
or call 866‐996‐3282.

Voices of Value™
(full quotes are available at www.HospitalValueIndex.com)
“The HCA TriStar Health System is honored to be named among the ‘best value’ health systems in America. Our ranking is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our staff and physicians, and our continued focus on efficiency, effectiveness, and quality outcomes.”
Larry Kloess, President
HCA TriStar Health System (Nashville, Tennessee)

 
“Our leadership team and staff continue to look at the way we operate our hospital in order to provide improved value, quality and service to our community. We are excited about sharing our strategies, as well as learning new practices from hospitals at the Voices of Value™ summit.”
Lloyd Ford Jr., PhD, FACHE, President and CEO
Jefferson Regional Medical Center (Festus, Missouri)

“Billings Clinic appreciates the recognition as a leader in value from Data Advantage. We are strong believers in the importance of providing quality care at an optimal cost in our current health care environment and to prepare for future changes in health care.”
Nicholas Wolter, MD, CEO
Billings Clinic (Billings, Montana)

 
“Parkway is honored to be named a Top 100™ Hospital. We strive to be a leader in offering outstanding ‐ high value ‐ care for our community. At Parkway, patients can expect to be treated always with compassion and professionalism and to have access to the latest medical expertise and advanced technology. It is this combination that positions us well for the future.”
Tim McGill, CEO
Parkway Medical Center (Decatur, Alabama)

 
“Zeeland Community Hospital is honored to receive the Best in Value™ Award. The award is an affirmation of our most sincere efforts to meet the needs of our community and exceed their expectations in terms of quality, efficiency and compassionate care.”
Henry A. Veenstra, President
Zeeland Community Hospital (Zeeland, Michigan)

 
“I am pleased that Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts has been recognized as one of the Top 100™ hospitals in the country in terms of the ‘value’ it provides. If health reform is to be successful at the state and federal levels, hospitals like Saint Vincent that provide the highest level of quality care at reasonable costs will lead the way.”
Joseph J Mullany, President
Vanguard Health System, New England & Chicago Market

 
“This achievement is truly a team effort combining the efforts of our Board, medical staff, employees, and community creating a quality health care system. St. Anthony is proud to be recognized by this award and will continue to make a caring difference every day. ”
Gary Riedmann, President
St. Anthony Regional Hospital & Nursing Home (Carroll, Iowa)

 
“Holy Name Hospital is honored to be ranked among the top hospitals in the country for quality, efficiency, affordability and patient satisfaction. The Best in Value™ award is distinguished by its use of published data from objective, third‐party sources. The value index isn’t anecdotal or subjective; it’s culled from a wide variety of nationally‐recognized standards, measures and indicators, and I think that’s what makes this recognition especially meaningful. One of the key tenets of our mission is stewardship, and that’s being recognized here. I am continually impressed by the way our entire team of employees, nurses and physicians comes together in a process that creates value, engendering excellence on every
level.”
Michael Maron, President/CEO
Holy Name Hospital (Teaneck, New Jersey)

 
“The Best in Value™ Award recognition is a testament to the great care provided at Berger Hospital. We consistently hold ourselves accountable to deliver high‐quality, cost effective healthcare, and this third party review helps to validate our success.”
Tim Colburn, CEO
Berger Hospital (Circleville, Ohio)

 
“At a time when the nation is focused on providing both high quality and affordable healthcare, it’s great to earn national recognition for doing just that. Consumer education is increasingly more important when making healthcare decisions. This study from an independent source verifies the value we provide our patients.”
Rosemari Davis, CEO
Willamette Valley Medical Center (McMinnville, Oregon)

“I am very pleased that we, as a team, have been recognized with this award. Our people make the difference. They are passionate, caring and down‐to earth. Whether it’s a physician, nurse, therapist or the person who works in the lab or in dietary, people make an institution great. Certainly in healthcare that’s true. Over the last 20 years this organization has done a great job of creating the infrastructure of an integrated system, which is ideally suited to successfully face challenges in health care. Our focus is entirely patient centered and we benchmark against the best of the best to constantly improve the quality care and value we are able to offer our patients.”
Mark Laney, President and CEO
Heartland Health (Saint Joseph, Missouri)

 
“Earning this recognition demonstrates our commitment to excellence from every part of our organization – physicians, employees, volunteers, managers and our Board of Directors.”
Edward J. Roth III, President and CEO
Aultman Hospital (Canton, Ohio)

 
“There is no way to really reform health care without transparency, consistent metrics and full understanding of value for money. The Hospital Value Index™ is one of the fundamental building blocks for reform that results in an accountable system and a model for engaging physicians and patients in ways that can make a real difference.”
Jonathan T. Lord, CEO
Navigenics

   2009-2010 Hospital Value Index™ – Release 3 Big Cities Low Value 

Nashville, TN – According to the most recent Hospital Value Index™ results, a study that analyzed data from more than 4,500 hospitals across the United States, hospitals in the largest U.S. cities generally offer a low value of patient care compared to elsewhere in the country.

“Our findings conclude that these urban areas offer less affordable and less efficient care, which affected the overall performance of the market,” .

“Ironically, we found that the hospitals with which the White House and its advisers are most intimately familiar deliver low healthcare value against every benchmark ‐ city, state, CMS Region, and the U.S.”

For example, the Chicago market ranked 88th out of the 100 largest markets, just one spot behind McAllen, Texas and one spot ahead of Honolulu. Other than Fort Myers and Las Vegas, the lowest‐ranking large markets were all in California. The top five states in delivering value were North Dakota, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and Maine. The bottom five states were New Mexico, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, and Nevada.

“Like every other good and service, price is an essential part of healthcare value,”. “For California, prices are relatively high, even after adjusting for national wage variances. The uninsured, underinsured and health savings account members are disproportionately harmed by the high prices, without receiving superior quality, outcomes or patient experience in exchange.”

“The rules have changed ‐‐ whether because of the economy, health reform or Value‐Based purchasing, and quality alone is not a sustainable strategy for the U.S. hospital industry,” said John Morrow, one of the authors of the study. “These organizations will need to be accountable to their communities for their performance on value and be transparent about doing so. The Hospital Value Index™ is a means toward that end.”

The latest study from the Hospital Value Index™ used the most current and comprehensive set of publicly available data, including Hospital Compare data released by CMS in July 2009, to analyze more than 4,500 U.S. hospitals to discover where patients can find the best value of care in their community. The Hospital Value Index™ researchers analyzed a variety of public data on hospital quality, price, efficiency, and patient satisfaction. The Hospital Value Index™ is updated frequently to reflect the dynamic impact of change occurring in the hospital industry.

Data Advantage will release the complete 2009‐2010 Hospital Value Index™ results on September 15 in Washington, D.C. For more information on the Hospital Value Index™ findings, please visit HospitalValueIndex.com or this site, www.TheHealthcareValueBlog.com.

Hospitals in smaller markets deliver better value than hospitals in large urban areas

2009-2010 Hospital Value Index™ Release Top Markets

Hospitals in smaller markets deliver better value than hospitals in large urban areas

Want to be sure you are spending your healthcare dollars wisely? Fortunately, the latest version of the Hospital Value Index reveals that informed healthcare consumers can find high-value healthcare in every corner of the United States.

In fact, the study of more than 4,500 U.S. hospitals finds communities with hospitals with fewer than 300 beds consistently rank among those with the best value in the nation.

“Our findings show that the best value of care often exists in smaller markets where patients access community-based hospitals, not just in large academic medical centers,”. “For consumers, it is encouraging to know that the healthcare providers in communities like Dothan, Alabama, Billings, Montana or Dubuque, Iowa deliver some of the best value in the nation.”

These findings are among a number of interesting results in the 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index, the most comprehensive and current examination of the value of hospital care available today.

Communities with hospitals delivering America`s best value of hospital care include:

* Dothan, Alabama
* Minden, Louisiana
* Tawas City, Michigan
* Clarksburg, West Virginia
* Billings, Montana
* Dubuque, Iowa
* Charlotte, North Carolina
* Amsterdam, New York
* Bangor, Maine
* Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

“In light of the ongoing discussion of healthcare reform in Washington, D.C., we were curious to identify markets where value is easy to find, as well as markets where value is a precious commodity,” said John Morrow, one of the authors of the study. “We were surprised to find that California has only two hospitals among the top 100 Best in Value hospitals. In contrast, states as diverse as New York, Alabama and Iowa each have at least six hospitals in the top 100.”

The latest study from the Hospital Value Index used the most current and comprehensive set of publicly available data, including Hospital Compare data released in July 2009, to survey more than 4,500 U.S. hospitals to discover where patients can find the best value of care in their community. The Hospital Value Index researchers analyzed a variety of public data on hospital quality, price, efficiency, and patient satisfaction for the study.

“The Hospital Value Index includes more data points from more hospitals than any other study,” said Morrow. “As a result, our findings point us to a broader spectrum of markets that will help consumers and might help reformers in D.C. better understand the healthcare delivery system.”

Data Advantage will release the complete 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index results on September 15 in Washington, D.C. For more information on the Hospital Value Index findings, please visit www.HospitalValueIndex.com.

As all good statisticians and pollsters know, the best stories are found in the outliers of an analysis, but often have an N of 1. In other words, the best stories are usually the exception and not the rule.

Not surprisingly, healthcare is no exception. Neither McAllen, Texas nor the “Clinic” model (Mayo, Cleveland, Scott & White, Geisinger, Sayre, etc.) are the rules. None of them, as even they acknowledge, are replicable models for healthcare reform. It appears that your advisors have selected models of reform based upon a mixture of historical reputation and old (non-severity adjusted) data as examples about what looks to be wrong or right about healthcare. It doesn’t make any sense, and besides, my pick-up truck won’t get there from here!

Mr. President, I offer you an alternative model. I would like to draw your attention to a formidable group of 747 unrelated hospitals that serve communities in nearly every state, in all CMS regions and across all hospital types. These hospitals are urban and rural, religious and secular, for-profit and not-for-profit, teaching and non-teaching community organizations that spend their days and nights doing the right thing, time after time. These hospitals are the leaders who persevere irrespective of patients’ ability to pay and who provide billions in community benefit beyond their primary functions. These hospitals employ 3.33 million professionals, and spend over $130 Billion on delivering services to make safer, happier, healthier lives for their taxpaying communities. These hospitals are typically the largest employer in their town, providing essential emergency services and serving as the first responders and last line of defense. And they do this without any official mandate to do so.

These hospitals are the Hospital Value Index™: Best in Value™ Award winners, and they will succeed under Value-Based Purchasing better than the other hospitals in America. They are the unsung heroes because they deliver quality, access, affordability, safety and outcomes better than the rest, while doing so in an efficient and affordable way that makes patients and taxpayers highly satisfied. Furthermore, they have been selected based upon an objective and comprehensive set of criteria.

Who are these hospitals?

What drives their leadership?

How do they do it?

How do you inspire an industry to seek their counsel?

Mr. President, it seems to me that holding up 747 hospitals as examples of models of success would be a far more effective way of understanding the culture of healthcare than embracing the anecdotes of a magazine most famous for its cartoons. The folks in Hidalgo County, Texas are burdened with immigrant and indigent populations with chronic conditions. To suggest that the “Clinic” model would “fix” what is wrong in Hidalgo County is, at best, naïve. Sure, the “Clinic” model is a worthy contributor to the U.S. healthcare system, and their lobbyists in Washington are effective at keeping their names in the media and in front of your advisors. But these microcosms of care won’t get replicated because they are outliers. Each of the aforementioned clinics provides a level of healthcare value that is above the national median. They are, however, isolated by either geography or access or both, putting them out of the reach of the typical American. The “Clinic” models have unique cultures especially with respect to physician leadership (which apparently is OK if “Clinic” is in the name but not if the physicians are the owners). I applaud them for their innovation, but I worry about the bigger picture. Medicare covers over 10 million people and there are 5,000 hospitals…I see a little bit of a bottleneck in your message.

Healthcare, like politics, is local, with the populations and health status that is endemic to each market. Hospitals have no choice but to care for their taxpaying, health care utilizing citizens regardless of their work permit status, educational levels, or ignorance about wellness and healthy living.

If these exemplary 747 hospitals have already accepted the challenge with Value-Based Purchasing, make them your poster child. Use the social media to endorse one in every major town, and create incentives for them to lead and others to follow.

Use the carrot and not the stick to recognize and reward those hospitals that meet the value definition. Help these hospitals with what they are good at and support where they want to improve.

Some hospitals may not make the change needed to survive in a value-oriented environment, That will be unfortunate, but it happens in every industry, and it might even be healthy for the industry.

If Stanford, Harvard, Princeton and Yale were your models for education where would that take us? Heck! My pick-up truck doesn’t even know where Princeton is!

If you want leadership, invite the 747 hospitals that are doing the right thing to a summit, introduce them to the country, and let them tell the world their success stories. There are some common threads among this special group of 747 – analyze those things that work in most markets and reward those hospitals that implement those practices.

These 747 hospitals are the bread and butter of our healthcare system. Please, please don’t disenfranchise them with talk of a new and better model…they are your models, statistically relevant and a force to collaborate with.

I still have “hope” that “change” will be good. So, Mr. President, let’s dispense with the sound bites and move on to the serious business ahead of us.

Respectfully,

 John Morrow

This new measure, the Data Advantage Hospital Value Index™ , was developed in anticipation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Value-Based Purchasing initiative, which will financially reward a hospital based on the value of its care beginning next year. It also recognizes the growing influence of consumers shopping for the best hospital values in their communities.

The Hospital Value Index™ defines a hospital’s value by its success in four critical areas:

• Quality of its care, including core processes and patient safety;
• Efficiency of its care and affordability, including the prices it charges;
• Experience encountered by its patients as measured by patient satisfaction; and
• Comprehensive reputation of a hospital as measured by local public perception.

For a complete list of findings, market-by-market hospital scores, and more information on the Hospital Value Index™, please visit www.hospitalvalueindex.com.

Since 1992, thousands of customers have relied on Data Advantage to provide independent, transparent and objective business intelligence to make the right decision every time. Whether you need one-step access to public benchmarking data or want to compare your hospital’s performance against our proprietary database, Data Advantage is the source.

Gain a competitive advantage – use Data Advantage’s Business Intelligence for Healthcare™ to improve your performance.

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DataView Planning 2.0’s combines the latest geo-spatial analysis tools with demographic and psychographic data to provide healthcare marketing intelligence.

Clinical Resource Management (DataView IP)

DataView IP allows you to analyze hospital financial and clinical performance and physician practice patterns to identify resource management and cost-savings opportunities.

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DataView Quality Performance allows you to evaluate quality and safety performance using our abstraction tools designed by nurses, for nurses.

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Health care reform is on the front burner, and local health care leaders say Nashville’s got the right connections and ingredients to be a major player……….

Nasvhille Business Journal: Health care leaders see local “Silicon Valley for health care”

Would-be health reformers love to point out the wide variations in care between hospitals in different U.S. regions — variations that lead hospitals in some parts of the country to charge Medicare far more than hospitals in other places, even when they aren’t necessarily delivering higher-quality care………

Study: Hospitals That Charge More Fare Worse On Quality Measures – Published by The Wall Street Journal

Nashville’s Data Advantage today released results of its state-by-state hospital comparison, part of its Hospital Value Index………..

It’s never the same anywhere – Published in The Nashville Post

NASHVILLE, TN – The value of care offered to hospital patients can vary by as much as 40 percent across the United States, according to a recent study examining quality, affordability, efficiency and patient satisfaction at more than 3,000 hospitals…………..

Value of hospital care varies widely – Published in healthcarefinancenews.com

Policymakers and physicians must get beyond thinking that the concept is only about slashing spending, says a speaker at an insurance industry forum……..

Broader approach to value-based purchasing sought for Medicare – Published in amednews.com

Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto ranks highest on a new Mid-South hospital value ranking conducted by health care information company Data Advantage LLC…………..

Report published in Memphis Business Journal: Baptist DeSoto scores highest value