Lakeview Medical Center is just one of two Wisconsin hospitals named among the 100 best value hospitals in the nation.

Lakeview made the top 100 list in a report put out by Data Advantage, a nationwide health care information company specializing in independent, objective and comprehensive data solutions for health care providers, consultants, analysts and suppliers.

The report was based on the firm's analysis of data from 4,500 hospitals, which account for nearly 90% of all hospital activity in the nation. The only other Wisconsin hospital to make the top 100 was St. Joseph's Hospital in Bloomer. Minnesota had just one hospital on the list-Owatonna Hospital in Owatonna.

Lakeview earned a score of 73% on the firm's Hospital Value Index. The average score on that index was 53%, and scores ranged from a low of 18% to a high of 85%. The Chippewa Falls hospital came in at 71%.

None of the other hospitals in Barron County were part of the index. The other nearby hospitals that were rated in the index were Luther Mayo Health and Sacred Heart, both in Eau Claire. Luther scored 63% on the index and Sacred Heart 49%.

The index has been touted as the first comprehensive list to measure the relative value of hospital care at the local level by evaluating quality of service, affordability and efficiency and patient satisfaction.

Hospitals making the list set the bar for the nation when it comes to value, said Hal Andrews, chief executive officer of Data Advantage. He said these hospitals have proven their ability to deliver high value care and can be looked to as a model for other hospitals around the nation.

"As legislators consider health reform, we believe that it will be increasingly important to recognize and reward those hospitals that deliver outstanding value," said Andrews.

The index attempts to measure a hospital's success in four areas:

• Quality as measured by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' core measures data on patient safety, mortality and readmissions.

• Efficiency, including the relative measure of cost to the hospital for provided services.

• Affordability based on a relative comparison of prices charged for services.

• Patient satisfaction using Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health care Providers and Systems, which is the first national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care. It incorporates many of the recognized measures adopted for incentive payments in Medicare demonstration projects

Data Advantage officials say that this kind of information is becoming increasingly important for both hospitals and consumers.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed that value-based purchasing be used to transform Medicare from a passive payer of claims to an active purchaser of care. At the same time, health care consumers are shouldering an increasing burden of the cost of health care, of which hospital services is a large part.

Data Advantage officials contend the index enables each stakeholder in the health care system to compare the value of hospitals in a comprehensive way.

Looking more closely at the findings for Lakeview Medical Center, the hospital scored 99% on what are termed "core measures." The national average was 88%.

These measures are based on patient records and attempt to show how well a hospital cares for certain groups of patients.

Among heart attack patients the hospital scored at 97%, compared to the national average of 91%. This score was based on the kinds of treatment provided for five different categories of heart attack patients.

In treating heart failure patients, the hospital scored at 99%, while the average score was 83% for all hospitals. This score looked at four specific treatments for heart failure patients.

LMC also received at 99% score in the treatment of pneumonia patients. The national average was 89%. In this instance, seven treatment options were measured.

The hospital was ranked at 100% for care of surgical patients. Nationally, hospitals score at 89%. Six treatment options were measured.

The index also considered mortality rates and readmission rates. In those areas the hospital's score was no different than the national average.

Sam Finazzo - Editor Rice Lake Chronotype.
www.ricelakeon line.com