According to a study released Tuesday by HealthGrades, an independent health care ratings organization, top rated U. S. hospitals have a 27% lower death rate than other hospitals. In it's seventh annual study of "quality and clinical excellence," the Golden, Colo., based company HealthGrades listed the top 270 hospitals out of 5000 that collectively had a 28% lower mortality rate and 8 % lower complication rate than the national average.

The researchers analyzed the records of 41 million patients who underwent treatment at 5000 non-federal hospitals across the nation from 2005, 2006 and 2007. These hospitals were ranked on the basis of 26 common diagnosis and procedures including heart failure, heart attack, stroke, pneumonia, angioplasty, gastrointestinal surgeries and sepsis.

The study found that the hospitals ranked in the top 5 % nationally lowered their in hospital death risk rates by an average of 18% as compared to 13 % for all other hospitals. Patients treated at these hospitals also had an 8 % lowered risk of complications for diagnosis and procedures that include orthopedic and neurosurgery, vascular surgery, prostate surgery and gall bladder surgery.

The top rated hospitals also reduced in-hospital complication rates by more than 3.9%, compared to about 2.5 % for all other hospitals from 2005 to 2007. Dr. Rick May, co-author of the study said, "What's very impressive is that when you look at statistics at high-performing hospitals." It's clear that "they don't get [the HealthGrades distinction] by chance. They do it by being extremely focused."

According to HealthGrades Seventh Annual Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study if all the hospitals had quality care like the top rated hospitals as many as
152,666 lives could have been saved and 11,772 major complications could have been avoided during the three year period of the study.

"This study echoes others that have found distinct quality gaps between top-performing hospitals and others. Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence comprise a group of hospitals that excels across the board, not just in one or two specialties, and they should be commended for their relentless commitment to exceptional patient care," said Dr. May in a news release.

Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis was rated as one of the safest in the country by HealthGrades and the fact that the hospital has implemented a rapid response program through which anyone--even family members--can summon a team of clinicians to the bedside of a distressed patient within 90 seconds is one of the reasons it made it to the top of the list.

The hospital's medical director, Dr. John Krettek said Missouri Baptist ensures that unlike other hospitals where 80% of the patients who have a heart attack while in hospital die, the assistant's respiratory therapist and nurse are trained to intervene and prevent any acute event occurring.

According to internal data, only 48% of patients die as would be expected given their diagnoses. Dr. Krettek added that the hospital's overall emphasis on safety shows not only in its innovative programs but in its numbers as well.