Last Thursday The Joint Commission released a report, America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality & Safety, identifying “top performers” among hospitals across the nation.

According to the report, 1,224 hospitals are “top performers.”  The report was released in Chicago – not Lake Wobegon – but the number of top performers represents about 37% of all hospitals in the sample, which consists of all 3,300-plus hospitals accredited by The Joint Commission.  The rankings are based on 46 accountability standards that measure evidence-based health care processes designed to improve patient outcomes.

The report is good news because the accountability standards applied by the organization are raised each year, meaning that hospitals have to improve quality and safety just to maintain the previous year’s standing.  The report noted that the improvement was nation-wide, with top performers in all regions of the country.  The organization’s CEO, Mark Chassin, singled out the nation’s academic medical centers for special praise.