Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center has been recognized among the 10 most cost-efficient hospitals in the U.S., according to recent analysis performed by The Lown Institute. In the report, data from over 3,000 U.S. hospitals was evaluated to output an index that ranks hospitals by their respective cost-efficiency rating, according to a Nov. 11 press release. Hospitals with the lowest mortality rates and lowest Medicare costs earned the highest cost-efficiency scores. Saint Mary’s ranked No. 1 in the state of Nevada and No. 2 nationally. “We are incredibly honored to receive this national recognition,” Tiffany Coury, CEO of Saint Mary’s Health Network, said in a statement. “It demonstrates our teams commitment to quality, delivering the right care at the right time and communicating effectively for safe transitions to home.” According to the report, calculating cost-efficiency involved comparison of a hospital’s 30-day mortality rate and associated costs, and 90-day mortality rate and associated costs. Claims information from 2016-2018 served as the primary data source. The algorithm is weighted to favor hospitals with lower mortality rates over hospitals with higher mortality rates regardless of cost, according to the release, “an important feature to appropriately acknowledge hospitals associated with positive patient outcomes.” “Improving clinical outcomes while moderating spending is vitally important,” Erin Madewell, Director of Process Improvement for Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center, said in a statement. “It demonstrates a commitment to improving healthcare at both the system level and for individual patients. I am extremely proud of our clinical and support teams that have worked together to achieve this recognition for Saint Mary’s.”
