PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island Hospital has been named to IBM Watson Health’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals 2019 Winner List, the only one in Rhode Island and Bristol County, Mass., to earn the distinction.
This is the fifth time Rhode Island Hospital has been recognized in IBM Watson Health’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study, now in its 20th year. The institution is one of only three hospitals in New England to earn the distinction this year, along with Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, Mass., and Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine.
“Rhode Island Hospital is proud to be named to this list of top hospitals for cardiovascular care for a fifth time. The expertise and cutting-edge treatment of our Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute, coupled with the outstanding experience provided by our entire inpatient and outpatient care teams, have made Rhode Island Hospital a top center in our region and across the country,” Rhode Island Hospital President Margaret M. Van Bree said in a statement.
The study uses 2016 and 2017 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review data, 2017 Medicare cost reports (2016 reports if 2017 reports were not available) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare reports published in the second quarter of 2018.
Hospitals were scored in key value-based performance areas: risk-adjusted mortality, risk-adjusted complications, percentage of coronary bypass patients with internal mammary artery use, 30-day mortality rates, 30-day readmission rates, and severity-adjusted average length of stay, among other areas.
According to a report from IBM Watson based on Medicare patients only, more than 10,300 additional lives could be saved, $1.8 billion could be saved, and 2,800 additional bypass and angioplasty patients could be complication-free if all cardiovascular providers in the United States performed on the same level as Rhode Island Hospital and the other winners.
Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals program leader at IBM Watson Health, said cardiovascular disease is among the most widespread and costliest diseases in the U.S., with an annual price tag of roughly $317 billion.
“It is estimated cardiovascular disease accounts for approximately $1 out of every $6 spent on health care in the country,” she said in a statement. “The winning hospitals in our study have established the new benchmark for cardiac care performance by driving consistently better outcomes at a lower cost per case than non-winning hospitals.”
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
