The Joint Commission’s 2015 annual report on quality and safety gave special recognition to more than 1,000 hospitals for their scores on healthcare quality measures.
The report shows how well hospitals do on evidence-based care for treating such conditions such as heart attack, pneumonia and stroke. It also scores all accredited hospitals on 49 performance measures, such as new measures for tobacco-use cessation, other substance abuse and, on a trial basis, inpatient psychiatric services.
“Relatively small percentage-point improvements in measures for which performance is already strong can often require as much or even more diligence than large percentage-point improvements where much room for improvement exists,” the report said. “All improvements are important and contribute to better care for patients.”
The Joint Commission’s Top Performer ranking singles out hospitals for exceptional performance on a few key measures rather than all of the 49 performance measures, FierceHealthcare noted. These include stroke care, venous thromboembolism care, inpatient psychiatric services, heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia.
