Scripps Named Among Top 5 Medium-sized US Health Systems

Scripps Health has been named one of the top five medium-sized health care systems in the nation by Merative, formerly known as IBM Watson Health, and the only health provider in San Diego County to be included among a broader list covering the top 15 large, medium and small systems across the United States.

The systems were chosen by Merative from among 2,604 hospitals that were evaluated for their quality of care, operational efficiency and patient experience. They were announced in the online edition of Fortune magazine.

Health systems do not apply for this annual listing, and winners do not pay to market the honor. Prior to 2018, the listing was produced by Truven Health Analytics.

“Scripps is honored to receive this prestigious recognition once again and to be recognized as a top health system in the nation,” said Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder. “This is the direct result of a constant effort by our physicians, nurses and employees to make sure the care we deliver to patients is the best available.”

The honor comes after more than two years of coping with a wide range of difficulties posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, noted Ghazala Sharieff, MD, MBA, Scripps corporate senior vice president and chief medical officer for acute care operations and clinical excellence. “We are particularly proud of this achievement considering the unprecedented challenges that we have faced recently. It’s a testament to Scripps’ long legacy of providing outstanding patient care.”

Merative evaluated 349 health systems and 2,604 hospitals that were members of those systems. The research was based on Medicare cost reports, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review data and data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare website.

Key findings

Hospitals included among the 15 best systems achieved better patient outcomes, fewer complications, shorter lengths of stay, lower readmission rates, fewer healthcare-associated infections, lower inpatient expenses, and higher ratings from patients.

Based on the research, the care delivered by the 15 best systems resulted in:

• 16,000 additional lives saved
• More than 17,000 additional patients being complication-free
• A 5% reduction in healthcare-associated infections
• Patients being discharged a half-day sooner