Newswise — NYU Langone Medical Center ranked 8th among the top academic medical centers in the country for patient safety and quality on the University HealthSystem Consortium's (UHC) "2012 Quality and Accountability Performance Scorecard.” In addition to receiving the “UHC Quality Leadership Award” for its demonstrated excellence in the delivery of high-quality care, NYU Langone also achieved five stars for its overall performance and ranked number one in effectiveness and equity.
"Our goal is to be a leader in healthcare safety and quality, and that focus permeates all of our actions,” said Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO of NYU Langone Medical Center. “As evidenced by our receiving this important UHC recognition, we believe our efforts are already ensuring the highest standards of quality and safety for our patients, their families and the medical center as a whole.”
The UHC is an alliance of the nation’s leading nonprofit academic medical centers, dedicated to helping its membership achieve excellence in quality, safety and cost-effectiveness. Conducted annually since 2005, UHC's Quality and Accountability Study ranks academic medical centers for their performance across a range of key patient safety and quality indicators including mortality, effectiveness, safety, equity, patient centeredness and efficiency. This year, 101 UHC member institutions were included in the analysis, which relied on data from the UHC Clinical Data Base/Resource Manager™, the UHC Core Measures Data Base and the publicly reported Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems.
In addition to receiving the “UHC Quality Leadership Award,” NYU Langone ranked number one in two categories including "Effectiveness," which measures overall hospital readmission rates (percentage of admitted patients who return for any reason within 30 days of discharge) and Joint Commission Hospital Core Measures performance scores for specific services, and "Equity,” based on a review of statistically significant differences in performance rates in gender, race (white versus non-white) and socioeconomic status. The medical center also ranked number four in “Mortality,” as determined by the observed-to-expected (O/E) mortality rate for 28 UHC service-lines, including cardiology, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, rheumatology, and vascular surgery.
NYU Langone has also received highest accolades for its high standards of safety and quality from nationally recognized accreditation and rankings organizations. Earlier this year NYU Langone was named to U.S. News & World Report's 2012 – 2013 “Best Hospitals Honor Roll,” as one of the top hospitals in the country as well as being recognized with 13 nationally ranked specialties. Additionally, Whynotthebest.org, an online tool tracking performance on various measures of healthcare quality using CMS data, ranked NYU Langone first among the nation’s academic medical centers for both overall recommended care and surgical care. Last year the Niagara Health Quality Coalition named NYU Langone to its “Honor Roll” for the third consecutive year and recognized the Medical Center on its list of “America’s Safest Hospitals.” It was also one of only two hospitals in New York City to be awarded with an “A” Hospital Safety ScoreSM by The Leapfrog Group for excellence in patient safety. NYU Langone continues to have the best score among New York City hospitals on four key measures of patient safety (hospital-acquired infections, readmissions, how well hospital staff communicates with patients about medications, and discharge planning), according to Consumer Report. In addition, NYU Langone was awarded a Gold Seal of Approval by The Joint Commission, reflecting its commitment to high quality care, and achieved Magnet® recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the international accrediting body that recognizes healthcare organizations focused on nursing excellence, for its Tisch Hospital, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine and Hospital for Joint Diseases.
###About NYU Langone Medical CenterNYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one of the nation’s premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of four hospitals – Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the world’s first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine; the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology; and Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children’s health services across the Medical Center – plus the NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The medical center’s tri-fold mission to serve, teach and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education and research. For more information, go to www.NYULMC.org.
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