Healthgrades Recognizes HSS for Exceptional Quality Care in Hip Replacement and Spine Surgery

New York, NY—October 18, 2016

Recognition that transparency about the quality of health care is crucial to drive improvement is seen in a growing body of consumer education, care ratings and patient reviews.  Today, Healthgrades furthers this dialogue with its 2017 Report to the Nation, recognizing Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) with several distinctions in musculoskeletal care and continuing with its mission to educate consumers on the importance of conducting research before choosing a doctor or hospital for care.  

This year, as in previous years, Healthgrades independently analyzed nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide for 34 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions.  HSS has once again achieved 5-star quality ratings in the categories of total hip replacement, back and neck surgery, and spinal fusion surgery, and was named one of Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery for the third consecutive year.

"We are proud that HSS Spine has been recognized for its strong clinical outcomes with both the quality star ratings and its place in the 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery," said Dr. Todd J. Albert, surgeon-in-chief and medical director of HSS. "The most discerning consumers and talented specialists have established HSS as a world center of excellence for spine care."

"As the hospital that performs the most hip surgeries in the nation, we are held to a high standard and are pleased to receive the 5-star rating for total hip replacements for the 10th straight year," added Dr. Albert.

A 5-star rating indicates that HSS’ clinical outcomes are statistically significantly better than expected when treating the condition or performing the procedure being evaluated.

"As healthcare value becomes better understood by the public, it is imperative to empower patients to make the right healthcare decision and ratings are an important tool in this process," said Louis A. Shapiro, president and CEO of HSS. "HSS is focused on providing the highest quality of care available and consistent top ratings validate our commitment to an excellent patient experience."

"Additionally, we are pleased to be one of four hospitals in the country that are profiled in the 2017 Report to the Nation," added Mr. Shapiro.

Further distinctions include:

• Recipient of the Healthgrades Joint Replacement Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2015-2017)
• Recipient of the Healthgrades Spine Surgery Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2015-2017)
• Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Spine Surgery for 3 Years in a Row (2015-2017)
• Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Joint Replacement for 3 Years in a Row (2015-2017)

"The Healthgrades 2017 Report to the Nation reveals striking disparities in the quality observed among the Nation’s hospitals, and underscores why it is vital for consumers to understand outcomes performance at specific hospitals for specific conditions and procedures," said Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer for Healthgrades. "A given community may have many hospitals, but only a precious few may provide better-than-expected outcomes for the specific care a patient needs. Those hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades 100 Best for Spine Surgery distinction have demonstrated a commitment to exceptional quality of care."

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide, assessing hospital performance relative to each of 32 common conditions and procedures, as well as an evaluation of comparative outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 18 states. Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance, and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as 5 star (statistically significantly better than expected), 3 star (not statistically different from expected), and 1 star (statistically significantly worse than expected) categories. The complete Healthgrades 2017 Report to the Nation with detailed cohort-specific outcomes data, hospital-specific quality achievements, and detailed study methodology, can be found at www.healthgrades.com/quality.