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Consumers Digest Names UPMC St. Margaret
One Of 50 Exceptional U.S. Hospitals

PITTSBURGH, April 2005 -- UPMC St. Margaret has been ranked 41st on a list of 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals for initiating safety and quality-improvement practices that reduce preventable medical mistakes, according to results of a nationwide survey published in the April issue of Consumers Digest. The survey was conducted by The Leapfrog Group, an association of chief executive officers of U.S. corporations representing 36 million health-insurance enrollees. Leapfrog promotes “leaps” in safety, quality and affordability of health care.

Hospitals were ranked based on their implementation of 27 quality and safety practices endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF), a nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based group that develops standards to measure health care quality. In addition to rating hospitals’ NQF compliance, the survey looked at hospitals’ use of board-certified intensivist doctors to manage their intensive care units, whether physicians order prescriptions via computers as well as performance on select high-risk procedures.

UPMC St. Margaret has put in place a number of quality and safety initiatives that caught the eye of surveyors. For example, the hospital is one of only four percent of U.S. hospitals to use computerized physician order entry. That means doctors electronically order tests, treatments and medications. This computer system automatically checks for errors such as incompatible medications or allergies, and eliminates the difficulty of deciphering handwritten orders. Also, the hospital provides continual monitoring of ICU patients by pulmonary specialists Mitchell Patti, MD; John Raffensperger, MD; and Craig Viti, MD, who serve as the hospital’s intensivists. With special training in critical care, these doctors can detect subtle changes in ICU patients’ conditions before they become life threatening.

Consumers Digest’s list of 50 Exceptional U.S. Hospitals is the third national recognition earned by UPMC St. Margaret this year. In February, the hospital was one of 36 in the country to receive a “ 2005 Hospital of Choice Award” from the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers. That award was based on professional ethics, standards of conduct, patients’ rights performance management, staff development, and communication systems. In March, UPMC St. Margaret was named among the nation’s Top 100 performing hospitals for the second consecutive year by Solucient, an Illinois-based health care information consulting firm. Solucient analyzed 3,000 acute care hospitals and recognized the top 100 for setting benchmarks for clinical excellence, operational efficiency, financial performance, being responsive to the community, and patient safety.

“Our recent technology initiatives, including the electronic medical record, have enhanced our ability to provide safe, high quality patient care,” said David Martin, president and CEO, UPMC St. Margaret. “But the real gains in quality depend on the individual efforts of our staff and physicians. They understand that each patient deserves a quality, safe experience and that we all are responsible to make that happen. I’m heartened that our efforts have received national recognition by three different organizations since the year began. Our physicians and employees remain committed to delivering the levels of safety and quality that have earned us these honors.”