Joint Commission names 405 top-performing hospitals

The Joint Commission recognized 405 hospitals and critical-access facilities as top performers based on nearly two dozen measures related to cardiac, pneumonia, surgical and pediatric asthma care.

The top-performers list (PDF), which reflects 14% of Joint Commission-accredited hospitals and critical-access facilities that report core measurement performance data, was a first for the organization and was released with the commission's annual report on quality and safety. Top-performing hospitals scored 95% for every individual care measure, according to the report. Overall, quality measures for 3,000 hospitals included in the annual report improved, according to a news release from the Joint Commission. The 2010 data shows performance gains for heart-attack, pneumonia, surgical and children's asthma care. But hospitals continued to lag on performance measures of fibrinolytic therapy for heart-attack patients and antibiotic treatment for pneumonia patients.