Hospital for Special Surgery Receives 5-Star Ratings from Healthgrades in Three Orthopedic Categories

New York, NY—October 20, 2015

Today, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) was nationally recognized with multiple accolades from Healthgrades, the leading online resource helping consumers make informed decisions in order to find the right doctor, the right hospital, and the right care. HSS achieved 5-star quality ratings in the categories of: total hip replacement, back and neck surgery, and spinal fusion surgery.

This achievement is part of new findings and data released today on Healthgrades.com and in the Healthgrades 2016 Report to the Nation. Every year, Healthgrades evaluates 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 33 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions.

The new report demonstrates how clinical performance continues to differ dramatically between hospitals both nationally and regionally. This variation in care has a significant impact on health outcomes. A 5-star rating indicates that HSS’ clinical outcomes are statistically significantly better than expected when treating the condition or performing the procedure being evaluated.

"We perform more hip surgeries than any other hospital in the nation so receiving the 5-star rating for total hip replacement for the 9th year in a row is very meaningful," said Dr. Todd J. Albert, surgeon-in-chief and medical director of HSS. "We are also pleased to see our back surgery rating rise to 5-stars, a testament to the work of our HSS Spine surgeons."

Additionally, HSS was named one of Healthgrades’ 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery™ for the second consecutive year.

"We are proud to again be recognized with these outstanding quality ratings as patients look to Healthgrades for trusted data to make informed healthcare decisions," said Louis A. Shapiro, president and CEO of HSS. "Our high quality ratings validate our commitment to service excellence."

Further distinctions include:

• Recipient of the Healthgrades Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award™ for 2 Years in a Row (2015-2016)
• Recipient of the Healthgrades Joint Replacement Excellence Award™ for 2 Years in a Row (2015-2016)
• Recipient of the Healthgrades Spine Surgery Excellence Award™ for 2 Years in a Row (2015-2016)
• Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Spine Surgery for 2 Years in a Row (2015-2016)
• Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Overall Orthopedic Services for 2 Years in a Row (2015-2016)
• Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Joint Replacement for 2 Years in a Row (2015-2016)

"The Healthgrades 2016 Report to the Nation reveals striking disparities in quality at the local level, and underscores why it is vital for consumers to understand outcomes performance at alternative hospitals for specific conditions and procedures," said Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer for Healthgrades. "Hospitals with superior outcomes for certain aspects of care may not perform as well in other areas. Moreover, a major metropolitan area may have many hospitals, but only a few may provide better-than-expected outcomes for the specific care a patient needs. Those hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades distinction have demonstrated a commitment to exceptional quality care."

For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 40 million Medicare inpatient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide, and assessed hospital performance relative to each of 33 common conditions and procedures. Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance, and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as 5 star (statistically significantly better than expected), 3 star (not statistically different from expected), and 1 star (statistically significantly worse than expected) categories. The complete Healthgrades 2016 Report to the Nation with detailed cohort-specific outcomes data, hospital-specific quality achievements, and detailed study methodology, can be found at www.healthgrades.com/quality.