Aurora Health Care among nation's best health systems

MILWAUKEE, Wis. Aurora Health Care ranks among the top 50 health systems in the United States, according to a study of clinical performance by Thomson Reuters.

Researchers from the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals program analyzed the quality and efficiency of 252 health systems and found statistically significant differences between top and bottom performers in several key areas. The best-performing health systems had 25% lower mortality, 19% fewer medical complications and 13% fewer patient safety incidents, even though their patients were sicker and their average hospital stays were significantly shorter.

All U.S. health systems with two or more short-term, general, nonfederal hospitals were assessed. Researchers looked at five metrics that gauge clinical quality and efficiency: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay and adherence to clinical standards of care (evidence-based core measures published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).The study relied on public data from the 2006 and 2007 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review and the CMS Hospital Compare data sets.

Aurora Health Care has sites in more than 90 communities throughout eastern Wisconsin, including 13 hospitals, more than 100 clinics and over 110 community pharmacies.