Our Commitment to Quality

VizientUniversity of Utah Health is #1 in the nation for quality among university hospitals, marking seven years in the top ten. University of Utah Health was named the highest ranking academic medical center by Vizient Inc., and also took home its seventh consecutive Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award, formerly named the Quality Leadership Award—a winning streak matched by only one other health system in the US.

This is the second time University of Utah Health has achieved the No. 1 ranking among academic health care systems — we also claimed the honor in 2010. Just making Vizient's rankings places a health care system in elite company. This year, Vizient named 13 academic health systems for achieving excellence in quality and accountability, including NYU Langone, the Mayo Clinic and University of Michigan.

What It Means To Be The Nation's #1 Health System

In October of 2016, U of U Health received the #1 ranking in the nation for quality—joined by some of the top-ranked academic medical centers in the country.

U of U Health Quality Rankings UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH U OF U HEALTH also ranked #1 IN THE NATION FOR QUALITY IN THE NATION FOR AMBULATORY CARE

And, we have been ranked in the top 10 in quality nationally for the past 7-years in a row!

Why Quality Matters To Us: Patients

These awards by Vizient (formerly University HealthSystem Consortium), whose membership includes 100 academic medical centers and more than 124 of their a liated hospitals, is meaningful to us in part because it is recognition of our work among our peer institutions. What we take the most pride in is what this ranking means for our patients and our community.

BETTER ACCESS • Extended hours• Urgent care clinics• Same-day specialty appointments FEWER COMPLICATIONS • Patients in our burn ICU have had no central line infections in over 3 years• Our preventable blood clot rate is zero in FY 2016 BETTER SURVIVAL • Patients admitted to UUHC with severe illness have among the highest likelihood of survival in the country BETTER COMMUNICATION • Nurses do bedside rounds to engage patients and families in their care plans• Doctors do team-based rounds• Pharmacists provide hands-on assistance at discharge SHORTER STAYS • Innovative case management and care navigator programs mean hospital readmission rates are among the lowest in the country

How Vizient Ranks Academic Medical Centers

Vizient's quality and safety award criteria includes 88 objective measures of care, including:

Quality and Safety Award Criteria 10% EFFICIENCY effectiveness in managing costs of care and efficiency of hospital stay 15% PATIENT CENTERED effectiveness of doctor, nurse, and pharmacy communication 20% EFFECTIVENESS likelihood of receiving reliable care for common conditions like stroke 5% EQUITY likelihood that care is consistent regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status 25% MORTALITY likelihood of surviving an illness/surgery when being treated at this hospital 25% SAFETY likelihood of avoiding complications such as infections or blood clots

How Vizient Compares To Other Rating Systems

How are various health care quality rankings different?

  • Based on actual care delivery – not reputation
  • Provide a current view of performance based exclusively on past year
  • Provide apples to apples comparison since academic medical centers care for the most complex and sickest patients in the country
Patient Care Measurements Medicare Only All Adults
Patient Centered ✔ ✔ ✔
Safe ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Efficient ✔ ✔
Effective ✔ ✔ ✔
Timely ✔ ✔
Equitable ✔
UUHC Rankings U.S. News & World Report:
#1 Hospital in Utah		 Hospital Safety Score:
B		 CMS:
4 Stars, Top Rating in Utah		 Vizient:
#1 in Quality Nationally

2016 Vizient Quality & Accountability Study Rankings

  1. University of Utah Health
  2. NYU Langone Medical Center
  3. Mayo Clinic Hospital-Rochester
  4. Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Froedtert Hospital
  5. Rush University Medical Center
  6. WVU Medicine West Virginia University Hospitals
  7. Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
  8. Cedars-Sinai Health System
  9. Houston Methodist
  10. Nebraska Medicine
  11. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
  12. University of Michigan Health System
  13. University of Vermont Medical Center