Editor's Note The latest "Best Hospitals" rankings from U.S. News & World Report have been released with significant updates to methodology in response to recent controversies. MedPage Today reported the news July 16. Among the chief changes this year is the inclusion of Medicare Advantage data in the rankings, a…

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Editor's Note CMS hospital star ratings may not be a reliable tool for assessing surgical quality, according to a study published June 18 in JAMA Surgery. Researchers acknowledge that higher ratings are generally associated with improved postoperative outcomes, including fewer complications and lower 30-day mortality rates. However, as reported by…

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Rural hospitals in the US have been facing a prolonged, multifaceted crisis. The literature presents several reasons for why healthcare facilities in rural areas struggle, including shrinking budgets, rising chronic illness and public health issues like addiction and obesity, poor telehealth and broadband access, aging populations, deteriorating mental health, and…

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What if a surgeon decided to perform a procedure on a patient that was not totally necessary? It happens more often that one might realize. As recently as August 2023, Forbes published an article that cited a Harvard Business Review report stating that over 50% of lumbar spine surgeries are…

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Editor's Note Quality of care drops when hospitals move from public to private ownership, according to review published in the March issue of the Lancet Public Health. The meta-analysis uses evidence from 13 longitudinal studies across the United States, Canada, Croatia, England, Germany, Italy, South Korea, and Sweden. Researchers evaluated…

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Editor's Note American hospitals fared well in Newsweek’s 2024 "World's Best Hospital" list, Becker’s Hospital Review reported February 28, noting that 43 candidates from the United States made the list of 250. Four US hospitals ranked in the top 10, a group singled out specifically for innovative use of artificial…

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Editor's Note:  The 250 best hospitals in the US perform at such a high level that those at the lower end of the rankings aren’t much different from those at the higher end, according to a January 23 report from Chief Healthcare Executive. Released annually by Healthgrades, the 2024 "Top…

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Editor's Note: Complex surgeries at high-volume (“hub”) hospitals are less likely to result in death or serious morbidity (DSM) than other hospitals within a system (“spokes”), the American Journal of Surgery reported December 25. However, patients undergoing common surgical care procedures at hubs are more likely to experience prolonged length…

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Editor's Note Hospitals that serve a high number of Black and Hispanic patients are much less likely to have advanced medical equipment and core services needed to provide effective cancer care. These research findings were published in JAMA Oncology on November 16.  The researchers analyzed patient data from 4,373 hospitals,…

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Editor's Note Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) have improved significantly after infection rates spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the nonprofit safety organization the Leapfrog Group, PRNewswire November 6 reports. According to the data, over 85% of hospitals improved performance on at least one of three dangerous infections: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),…

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