A study published in JAMA Surgery sought to establish whether US News & World Report (USNWR) top-ranked hospitals for gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgical procedures are associated with improvements in patient outcomes, compared with nonranked hospitals, in common advanced laparoscopic abdominal operations. Researchers used the Vizient database, which contains administrative, clinical, and financial inpatient information of index hospitalizations for US academic centers and their affiliated hospitals that are members of Vizient. Data were obtained on advanced laparoscopic abdominal operations performed from January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017, at USNWR top-ranked hospitals and nonranked hospitals. Abdominal operations included bariatric, colorectal, and hiatal hernia procedures. Operations on patients younger than 18 years, emergent cases, conversion cases, and patients with extreme severity of illness were excluded. The study found that although, among academic centers, the annual volume of advanced laparoscopic abdominal operations was 3-fold higher for USNWR top-ranked hospitals compared with nonranked hospitals, the volume did not appear to be associated with improved patient outcomes.
A previous study published in 2018 found better outcomes for US News & World Report Top Ranked Hospitals for cardiovascular care than non ranked hospitals.
Read more:
- Association of US News & World Report Top Ranking for Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Operation With Patient Outcomes in Abdominal Procedures. JAMA surgery. July 31 2019
- AboutHealthTransparency blog post, Nov 28 2018: https://abouthealthtransparency.org/2018/11/better-outcomes-for-us-news-world-report-top-ranked-hospitals-for-cardiovascular-care-than-non-ranked-hospitals-study-finds/