Denver, Colo. (January 23, 2018)—Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals, today announced the 250 recipients of the 2018 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence. These hospitals are among the top five percent in the nation that deliver high quality care across at least 21 of 32 common inpatient conditions and procedures, according to the Healthgrades analysis.

The Healthgrades analysis also compared hospitals receiving the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, as a group, to those who did not receive the award as a group. From 2014 through 2016, if all hospitals, as a group, performed similarly to hospitals receiving the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, on average, 159,924 lives could potentially have been saved.* Patients treated in hospitals receiving the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, had, on average a 26.3% lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence for treatments across 19 rated conditions and procedures where mortality is the outcome.*

“Consumers should prioritize hospitals and health systems that achieve high marks in clinical quality,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “We commend these organizations for their commitment to driving better patient outcomes and high quality care.”

Access a complete list of the 2018 award recipients.

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*Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of MedPAR data for years 2014 through 2016 and represent 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only.