For the sixth time, IBM Watson Health has named Mercy Health – Cincinnati one of the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems (NYSE: IBM). IBM Watson Health’s annual study spotlights the best-performing health systems in the U.S., based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics and data. 

This year’s 15 Top Health Systems study evaluated 337 health systems and 2,961 member hospitals to identify the 15 U.S. health systems with the highest overall achievement on a balanced scorecard. The scorecard is based on the 100 Top Hospitals® national balanced scorecard methodologies and focuses on five performance domains: inpatient outcomes, process of care, extended outcomes, efficiency, and patient experience. This is the sixth time that Mercy Health – Cincinnati has earned this honor, more than any other health system in the region, and it’s tied for first as the system with the most 15 Top Health System Honors in Ohio.

“This is an honor that Mercy Health – Cincinnati is particularly proud to receive, since it reflects not just the high-quality care we provide at our five area hospitals, but also the satisfaction of our patients, which we work very hard to earn,” said Dave Fikse, President, Mercy Health – Cincinnati. “I thank our dedicated nurses, doctors and associates for the care they take with each of our patients. This honor is only possible because of their efforts.”

Based on extrapolating the results of this year’s study, if all similarly-situated Medicare inpatients received the same level of care as those treated in the award-winning facilities: 

  • More than 60,000 additional lives could be saved
  • More than 26,000 additional patients could be complication-free
  • Healthcare-associated infections would be reduced by 10%
  • Patients would spend 38 minutes less in hospital emergency rooms per visit

"The multi-year trend toward increased healthcare consolidation has shined a spotlight on health system performance, illuminating both the challenges of coordinating care across multiple facilities and the opportunities that can come with scale," said Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals® program leader at IBM Watson Health. “The institutions recognized in the IBM Watson Health 15 Top Health Systems study are providing a blueprint for how to improve quality, lower costs and achieve outstanding patient satisfaction on a consistent basis.”

In March, IBM Watson Health named Mercy Health – Anderson Hospital and Clermont Hospital as two of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals.

For more information, visit www.100tophospitals.com.