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Our Commitment to Quality

For 11 consecutive years, Vizient Inc. has ranked University of Utah Health in the nation’s top 10 for quality health care among leading academic medical centers. U of U Health achieved the No. 1 ranking in the nation in 2020, 2016, and 2010.*

The Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award recognizes academic medical centers for demonstrating superior quality and safety performance as measured by the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study. The study measures superior performance based on the Institute of Medicine’s six domains of care: safety, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, equity and patient centeredness.

*In 2020, Vizient Inc. and the ranked institutions did not publicly announce the winners out of respect for their colleagues across the country who were battling the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 rankings were based on an eight-month time period instead of the usual 12-month time period, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic timeframe of March through June 2020.

U of U Health has also ranked in the top 5 in the nation for ambulatory care for six consecutive years, ranking No. 2 in 2020. The Vizient Ambulatory Care Quality and Accountability Award measures the quality of outpatient care in five domains: access to care, capacity and throughput, quality and efficiency, continuum of care, and equity.

Why Quality Matters To Us: Patients

These awards by Vizient (formerly University HealthSystem Consortium), whose 2018 membership includes 93 academic medical centers and 349 participating organizations, 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.

why-quality-matters • Extended hours • Urgent care clinics • Same-day specialty appointments BETTER ACCESS • Patients in our burn ICU have had no central line infections in over 4 years • Our preventable blood clot rate is zero for 3 consecutive years FEWER COMPLICATIONS • Patients admitted to UUHC with severe illness have among the highest likelihood of survival in the country BETTER SURVIVAL • 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 BETTER COMMUNICATION • Innovative case management and care navigator programs mean hospital readmission rates are among the lowest in the country SHORTER STAYS

How Does the Quality & Accountability Study Work?

Vizient’s study is one of the most rigorous available. The composite scoring system uses patient-level performance data from a variety of sources, including the Vizient Clinical Database; the Vizient Core Measures Database; the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network.

The study uses the Joint Commission’s four core measures (acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, pneumonia, and the surgical care improvement project) as part of its effectiveness score along with readmission rates. It looks at mortality not just across eight major service lines but also comprehensively across 27 service lines. It investigates six of 23 patient safety indicators from the Agency of Healthcare Research & Quality. It evaluates the efficiency of the health system based on observed direct costs and length of stay versus expected stay. Finally, it tabulates patient satisfaction data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ HCAHPS surveys sent to patient homes.

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 POPULATION
Patient Care Measurements Medicare Only All Adults
Patient-Centered ✔ ✔
Safe ✔ ✔ ✔
Efficient ✔ ✔
Effective ✔ ✔ ✔
Timely ✔ ✔
Equitable ✔
U of U Health Rankings U.S. News & World Report:
#1 Hospital in Utah		 CMS:
5 Stars, Top Rating in Utah		 Vizient:
#1 in Quality Nationally

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