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The article assesses the results of the 100 Top Hospitals survey conducted by Solucient. Some of the top performing hospitals include the University Medical Center, Poudre Valley Hospital and Danbury Hospital. The survey revealed that top hospitals not only deliver higher quality care at lower cost to more and sicker patients, but they also employ fewer staffs. They use 35 less contract labor and pay their staffs $3,000 more as compared to average hospital employees.

Features several hospitals included in the Solucient's list of 100 Top Hospitals in the U.S. Policy of Bay Medical Center in Florida that encourages doctors not to do outpatient tests or procedures; Performance measures used for the ranking; Improvement in the financial and clinical health of Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca, Wisconsin.

Deals with hospitals that have been named four or more times to the 100 Top Hospitals list of Solucient LLC in the U.S. from 1993 to 2002. Statistical information on the clinical performance of health facilities that were repeat winners; Reason institutions named to the 100 Top Hospitals list four or more times continually outperform other hospitals, according to David Foster of Solucient; Highlights of the quality improvement projects of several health facilities.

Presents information on Solucient LLC's annual list of 100 Top Hospitals in the U.S. Remarks from Jean Chenoweth of Solucient on the 100 Top Hospitals; Number of hospitals which made the list for the first time; Basis of Solucient in deciding which hospitals to include on the list; Effort of Deaconess Billings Clinic to improve its financial and clinical performance.

Presents information on the 100 top hospitals in the United States. How the top 100 are anointed; Efforts of the hospitals to maintain lower-than-expected rates of complication and mortality; Success of the Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation; Analysis of 1995 Medicare cost and discharge data. INSETS: Standards by which hospitals are judged.;Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. hospitals in top 100.;Other for-profit hospitals in top 100..

The article presents information on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), a survey commissioned by Thomas Reuters which rates hospitals in the U.S. based on their performance and patient satisfaction. It offers a brief overview of a nighttime noise complaint against Gundersen Lutheran Health System. Some hospital executives express their views on the survey.

The article reports that the Leapfrog Group will unveil its list of the top 50 acute-care hospitals and the top nine children's hospitals in the U.S. in October 2006. The list will give health insurers added leverage in contract negotiations with hospitals and health systems. Leapfrog has also called for hospitals to adopt the National Quality Forum's 30 safe practices for better healthcare. Its latest survey, however, noted that many hospitals are still implementing basic safe practices.

Provides information on the top 100 performance improvement leaders in the U.S. healthcare industry from 1999 to 2003, according to Solucient. Benefits offered by the relocation and expansion of services to Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Decrease in the risk-adjusted mortality index of hospitals in 2005; Comparison of the length of stay at improved hospitals with peer hospitals; Approach applied by small hospitals to quality assessment and process improvement.

The article highlights the annual ranking of top hospitals in the U.S. released by Leapfrog Group in 2007. The organization named 41 hospitals to its 2007 list of top quality and safety performers. Those 41 hospitals-33 adult facilities and eight children's hospitals-fully met Leapfrog's standards in intensive-care physician staffing, safe-practices scoring and in either two or more of the eight evidence-based hospital referral areas or in computerized physician order entry plus one of the eight referral areas.

Several charts are presented that show the annual ranking of the 100 top hospitals performance improvement leaders in the U.S., including performance trends from 2001 through 2005.

The article focuses on an executive order signed by U.S. President George W. Bush that mandates four federal agencies and its vendors to take lead on healthcare information technology, transparency and quality. The publication of a star-rating system for hospitals may be included in the executive order according to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt. The federal agencies included in the order are the HHS, the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments, and the Office of Personnel Management. It is said that the rating system was opposed by hospitals led by the American Hospital Association.

Deals with the rating formula devised by HealthGrade.com for United States hospitals. Information on the hospital database in HealthGrade; Other services provided by HealthGrade; Comparison of hospital rating to rating physicians.

Focuses on the measures of success used in the annual HCIA/Mercer analysis of the top 100 hospitals in the United States. Aim of the yearly analysis; Measures that were retained; Importance of outpatient business. INSET: Standards by which hospitals are judged.

This section offers news briefs on the health care industry in Middle West of the U.S. as of May 31, 2010. The Cancer Center in New Albany, Indiana was acquired by Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services. Clarian Health plans to change its name to Indiana University Health in the first half of 2011. The Wisconsin Hospital Association plans to include more information on how hospitals in the state rate on their birthing services at its CheckPoint website.

The article reports on the rankings released by the U.S. Public Citizen Health Research group. Public Citizen creates rankings based on three-year averages of medical license revocations, surrenders, suspensions, probations and suspensions for each state. The results, as of April 1, 2010, conclude that Alaska does the best job of disciplining doctors while Minnesota does the worst. According to Public Citizen, doctor discipline can be improved if medical boards conduct proactive investigations aside from reacting to complaints.

The article presents information on the 100 Top Hospitals Performance Matrix, a new methodology tool from the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals study which offers leaders of hospitals with a multitude of new insights into the effectiveness of their strategies to improve and enhance the performance of the organization. It discusses the importance of the tool in enhancing the understanding of hospital board members and chief executive officer of their effectiveness in a rapidly changing world.

A letter to the editor about the need to inform readers about the measures, sources of information and methods SDI uses in its hospital rankings is presented.

The article reports that the annual ranking of the best health care network in the U.S. by data and consulting firm Verispan, already includes an alternative to the top 100 most integrated networks. Dubbed as the Best of the Rest, the roster ranks high-scoring systems in four geographic regions that failed to break into the IHN 100. Verispan debuted the second-tier ranking to recognize strong networks outside the Midwest that are handicapped by the size and nature of their market.

The article reports on the comparison of the results of a study conducted by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) with the ranking of hospitals published in the "U.S. News & World Report." It is claimed that the magazine's ranking was at odds with the results of a recently published hospital quality study by JCAHO. The process-based quality evaluation methods such as the JCAHO's are considered not a good predictor of mortality rates for certain conditions.

The article highlights the rating system for hospitals and nursing homes published by the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century in New York in November 2005. Speeding the review of health care organizations and hospitals is the prime objective of the system. There are six criteria involved in the evaluation of health care facilities under the system. Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, commented on the methodology.

Presents news briefs on the health care industry in the U.S. as of October 3, 2005. Information on the ratings of selected hospital companies based on the analysis of CMS Hospital Compare data by Morgan Stanley & Co.; Federal antitrust lawsuit filed by Wuesthoff Health System against Health First.

Presents news briefs on the U.S. health care industry as of October 11, 2004. Reprieve given to the De Queen Regional Medical Center to outsource its emergency room by city lawmakers in Arkansas; Speculation about the resumption of the operation of Santa Paula Memorial Hospital in California under a deal approved by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors; Status of the ratings of children's hospitals across the country.

Presents a letter to the editor in response to an article about the top 100 hospitals in the U.S.

Discusses the report of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the performance of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Response of commission president Dennis O'Leary to the recommendation of the GAO for a new government oversight of the JCAHO; Status of the system of reporting hospital quality data to the public implemented by the JCAHO; Issues on the presentation of hospital performance data by the organization.

Criticizes the use of the failure-to-rescue indicator in a study by Health Grades Inc., a healthcare quality rating and advisory services company, on the inability of hospitals to catch preventable complications. Number of deaths among Medicare patients from 2000 to 2002 that could be attributed to patient-safety lapses; Criticism of the reliance of the report on the failure-to-rescue indicator.

Reports that Moody's Investors Service is considering extending its corporate governance ratings to not-for-profit hospitals and health systems. Criticism on rating agencies for failing to detect governance problems; Top criterion of Moody; Framework of corporate governance assessments by Moody.

Discusses the Solucient LLC 100 Top Hospitals program in the U.S. Primary objective of the program; List of opportunities that arose from the program; Information on how the program is committed to objectively identifying hospitals of high performance.

Reports on the initial results of the 2003 'Global Shareholder Confidence World Watch Report,' conducted by the strategy consulting firm Brendan Wood International. Shareholder confidence of healthcare companies in the U.S.; List of the top ten health insurance companies; Rating of hospital chain Tenet Healthcare Corp.

Provides information on the hospital quality report of PacifiCare Health Systems in which it ranked hospitals in its California network as of March 2003. Plan of PacifiCare to extend the report; Criteria in which the ranking was based; Sources of several data for the report; Goal of PacifiCare in conducting its report.

Reports on the rating upgrade of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. (HHC) in February 2001. Total deficit of the company; Earnings of HHC in 2000; Factors that influenced the status of the company.

Features Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk, Virginia, the topnotcher in the 2001 Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Network ratings of SMG Marketing Group in the United States. Focus of the hospital system; Criteria for good performance of integrated healthcare networks; Key to the success of Sentara at integrating.

Reports on the prediction of Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's regarding the credit ratings of not-for-profit hospitals in the United States by the end of 2001. Moody's outlook for the for-profit hospital sector; Downgrades in the not-for-profit sector in 2000.

Reports on the donation given by the trustees of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York to help the hospital with its financial problems. Remarks from Martin Arrick, a Standard & Poor's director, about the hospital's fund-raising potential; Cost-cutting measures done by the hospital; Bond rating of the hospital in June 2000.

Presents information on the top five hospitals in the United States according to the Center for Healthcare Industry Performance Studies. Categories considered in the analysis of hospital performance; Some findings in the 1999 Performance Review.

Editorial. Comments on the competition and accountability in the hospital business in the United States. Performance analysis movement in Massachusetts; Evaluation of hospitals in California; Evaluation of the Massachusetts Health Quality Partnership program.

Unveils the results of a survey about patients' experiences at 58 Massachusetts hospitals, conducted for the Massachusetts Health Quality Partnership by the Picker Institute. Ratings of hospitals; Comments about the survey; Points about the survey emphasized in newspaper reports.

Reports on Standard & Poor's Corp.'s revision of its outlook for St. Joseph Hospital System's AA bond rating. Impact of acquisition of Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center.

Focuses on the ratings received by Grand Rapids, Arizona hospitals Blodgett Memorial Medical Center and Butterworth Health System from Standard & Poor. Basis of the ratings; Revenues of the hospitals as of June 30, 1997.

Reports on the stabilization of hospital ratings in Southern California, as stated in a December 15 feature article of Standard and Poor's Creditweek Municipal. How the ratings of the not-for-profit hospitals in the region have stabilized; Reason why consolidation doesn't always boost credit quality according to the feature article.

Reports that an article appearing in the April 8, 1997 issue of `Journal of the American Medical Association' criticised the annual `America's Best Hospitals' ranking of `U.S. News & World Report.' Response of the magazine to the criticism; Arguments in defense of the hospital rankings; Reaction of the hospitals to the rankings.

Reports that Florida hospitals are double-checking patient medical records to determine possible lowering of their ratings due to miscoded diagnoses. Controversy arising from Florida's hospital report card; Undercoding of severity of illness of patients; Mortality rates in hospitals.