(HealthNewsDigest.com) - DENVER, Feb. 19, 2013  -- Healthgrades, the leading online resource that helps consumers search, evaluate, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals, today released its new report, America's Best Hospitals 2013: Navigating Variability in Hospital Quality.  The report identifies the Top Cities in the United States with the lowest overall average risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rates (less than 5%), with Dayton, OH, Phoenix, AZ and Milwaukee, WI topping the list.  As part of this analysis, Healthgrades identified a dramatic variability in clinical outcomes among hospitals within these cities.

With this trend in mind, the report also includes the annual Healthgrades America's Best Hospitals 2013, recognizing hospitals at two levels: America's 50 Best Hospitals (top one percent in the nation, evaluated over seven years) and America's 100 Best Hospitals (top two percent in the nation, evaluated over four years).  These hospitals have passed the test of time, showing superior performance and clinical excellence year after year.

"The America's Best Hospitals distinction provides a measure of confidence for consumers," said Evan Marks, EVP, Informatics and Strategy, Healthgrades. "Each hospital's exceptional performance reflects a dedication and approach to quality which has been evidenced across the organization and has been demonstrated consistently in terms of superior clinical outcomes."

In fact, if all hospitals performed at the level of the Healthgrades America's 100 Best Hospitals (from 2009 through 2011), more than 165,000 lives potentially could have been saved.

"The good news for consumers, whether or not they reside in one of the top cities, is they can still find hospitals that demonstrate superior quality so long as they do their homework before seeking care," said Archelle Georgiou, MD, a strategic advisor to Healthgrades. "This report unequivocally shows that there is no substitute for using quantitative data to select a care provider. Instead of relying on name recognition, location or size, consumers should carefully review a hospital's performance across different procedures and conditions.  The result may, in some cases, mean the difference between life and death."

Americans Should Know Before They Go
New complementary research - conducted online among more than 2,000 U.S. adults by Harris Interactive on behalf of Healthgrades in January 2013 - demonstrates American's understanding of the importance of accessing quality care:

--  In an actual emergency, 81% of adults surveyed would ask an ambulance
driver to take them to the better hospital even though it was further
away if, prior to the emergency, they learned that their chance of
survival was significantly better there.
--  An overwhelming 85% of adults surveyed would select a surgeon they did
not know at a hospital with an excellent track record for patient
safety, low complications, and mortality rates rather than choose a
surgeon they know and trust at a hospital with poor track record for
patient safety, complications, and mortality rates.
"As the U.S. healthcare system transforms over the coming years, consumers will face unprecedented changes to how they select and utilize healthcare services," said Roger Holstein, CEO, Healthgrades.  "Healthgrades is committed to providing consumers with the tools and resources needed to research, compare and connect with hospitals and physicians so that they can make more informed healthcare decisions."

For more information about Healthgrades, to see the complete list of Top Cities and Best Hospitals, and download a full copy of the report, visit: www.Healthgrades.com/quality today.

About Healthgrades Hospital Quality Distinctions
Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance for nearly 4,500 hospitals across the nation in 27 procedures and conditions annually. Healthgrades.com provides information on objective measures of hospital performance, which allows consumers to compare their local hospitals online at www.healthgrades.com/find-a-hospital. Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance for nearly every hospital in the nation; no hospital can opt-in or opt-out of being evaluated, and no hospital pays to be evaluated. Mortality and complication rates are risk adjusted, which takes into account the differing severity of illness at different hospitals and allows for hospitals to be compared fairly.

About Healthgrades
Healthgrades, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. More than 225 million visitors use the Healthgrades websites to search, evaluate, compare and connect with physicians and hospitals that best meet their treatment needs.  Consumers are empowered through use of the Healthgrades proprietary information about clinical outcomes, satisfaction, safety, and health conditions to make more informed healthcare decisions and take action.  For more information please visit www.healthgrades.com and www.bettermedicine.com.

Web Site: http://www.healthgrades.com
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