Study Places Rush University Medical Center Among The Top Performing Academic Medical Centers In The USA

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Article Date: 22 Sep 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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A study of 88 academic medical centers from across the country has placed Rush among the top five centers in the nation based on high performance in quality and safety.

The study was guided by six elements of care - safety, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, equity and patient centeredness, and conducted by the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC). Results of the study, called the UHC 2008 Quality and Accountability Study, were presented today at the 8th Annual UHC Quality and Safety Fall Forum meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The other four top performing academic medical centers and their university affiliates were: Methodist Hospital-A Clarian Health Partner, Indianapolis (Indiana University); St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston (Texas Medical Center, University of Texas); University Medical Center, Tucson (University of Arizona); and the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison.

Since the study was established four years ago, Rush has consistently ranked among the top performers and is one of only two academic medical centers to be in the top ten each year of the study. This was the first year that a measure for patient centeredness was included as a factor in the overall rankings. To define patient centeredness, UHC used publicly reported data from Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems where hospital patients were asked to "rate" their hospital stay on a scale from 1 to 10.

The purpose of the annual study, according to the UHC, is to determine what structures and practices are associated with excellent performance across a wide variety of patient populations at academic medical center. Such factors identified in earlier studies include a shared sense of purpose throughout the organization, leadership style, an accountability system, a focus on results and a collaborative culture.

"This study shows the true meaning of the hard work and dedication on the part of every employee at Rush toward our mission of providing the very best care for our patients," said Dr. Larry Goodman, president and CEO of Rush. "We are especially pleased that the study showed, once again, that the quality of Rush's care does not vary regardless of a patient's gender, race or socioeconomic status."

The UHC, based in Oak Brook, Ill., is an alliance of 102 academic medical centers and 184 of their affiliated hospitals, representing 90% of the nation's nonprofit academic medical centers. UHC provides data products and services to members to support clinical, operational, financial and supply chain improvement.

Rush University Medical Center includes the 674-bed (staffed) hospital; the Johnston R. Bowman Health Center; and Rush University (Rush Medical College, College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences and the Graduate College).

www.rush.edu