Inova Loudoun Hospital gets high marks for value
By Shannon Sollinger
Data Advantage LLC, a health-care information company, includes Inova Loudoun Hospital in its compilation of "Best in Value" hospitals in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
The company released its Hospital Value Index June 24. Researchers compiled data from more than 1,500 hospitals in 100 large markets in the United States, and gathered responses and data from more than 180 million consumers. Consumers included patients, employers and insurance companies.
In addition to Inova Loudoun, other facilities ranked in the top quartile for value in the Washington market were Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge, Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington and Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal.
Virginia Hospital Center was ranked 74th on the list of the top 100 hospitals in the country. Warren Memorial was 95th.
According to Data Advantage, the study evaluated quality of care, including patient safety; efficiency and affordability, including prices; patient satisfaction; and reputation with the public in the local area.
The study reveals, according to its authors, that some hospitals with a reputation for high-quality care do not provide it, and that lesser-known hospitals, including several public or "safety net" facilities, provide very high-value care. Type of ownership, profit or nonprofit, size, teaching status and demographics did not predict high- or low-value care.
Data Advantage concluded that if all 1,500 hospitals studied performed at the same high-value level as those ranked Best in Value, approximately $273 billion in excess charges could be removed from the health-care system by hospitals alone.
Fairview Northland Medical Center in Princeton, Minn., was first on the top 100 list, with 84.1 points out of a possible 100.