Medical students are taught to first do no harm to patients. Perhaps a better motto to follow is, first do nothing.
Welcome to our 11th annual 100 Top Hospitals supplement where each year we attempt to answer the question: What do high-performing hospitals do differently than lesser-performing hospitals? In previous supplements, we've looked at such variables as patient-safety strategies, new medical technologies, specific clinical practices, nurse-staffing ratios, the use of hospitalists, labor costs, avoidable medical errors, patient-satisfaction scores and ownership status.