Denitza Blagev said Intermountain Medical Center’s focus on research and positive outcomes for its patients is what sets the Murray facility’s respiratory care apart from other hospitals in Utah.
“We‘re a leader in terms of innovating,” said Blagev, director of Intermountain’s Schmidt Chest Clinic. “We‘re always trying to figure out novel areas for improvement.”
A recent national report indicates Intermountain is, indeed, superior in that area: the hospital was ranked 48th in the country for pulmonology — a medical specialty focusing on the respiratory system — in U.S. News & World Report’s 28th annual best hospital rankings released late Monday.
No other Utah hospital received a top 50 ranking in that category. The weekly news magazine compared more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide based on 25 conditions, specialties and procedures. In Utah, only the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics and Intermountain Medical Center were ranked— No. 1 and No. 2 in the state, respectively.
“U.S. News offers deep, rich data that patients can use to help them make informed decisions about where to receive surgical or medical care,” said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at the Washington, D.C.-based publication. “We know outcomes matter most, which is why U.S. News is committed to publishing as much data as possible on patient outcomes.”
To rate hospitals, U.S. News examined risk-adjusted survival and readmission rates, patient experience and safety, as well as the volume of patients, among other things.
Intermountain did not receive a top 50 ranking in pulmonology last year, but Blagev said there have been several innovative programs that likely helped boost the center to a top 50 spot on the U.S. News list in 2017.
For example, center physicians are using a software program that helps emergency room doctors better diagnose pneumonia and choose appropriate antibiotics, Blagev said, which has reduced patient mortality rates.
“Our ability to really leverage the data we have and to create support systems for clinicians” makes the hospital unique, Blagev added. “We develop these systems for helping clinicians do the right thing at the right time.”
She added that center physicians also are conducting a study on whether indoor air filters can help combat the extreme air pollution in Utah.
Intermountain also was ranked as “high performing” — meaning it was significantly better than average — in six areas, including diabetes and endocrinology, knee-replacement surgery and heart-bypass surgery.
The U. did not receive a top 50 ranking in pulmonology, but it was rated as ”high performing in that area. It also was ranked 18th in the ear, nose and throat specialty and the U.’s Huntsman Cancer Institute was ranked 38th in cancer care — compared to being unranked (meaning, not significantly better than average) and 47th last year, respectively.
Mary Beckerle, CEO and director of the institute, said in a news release that the cancer care ranking was a “great honor.”
“Our patient satisfaction surveys have frequently placed the cancer center in the top percentile nationally,” the statement said. “It is gratifying to see HCI included in such a distinguished peer group of hospitals through this rigorous assessment of our cancer care programs.”
The U. also was ranked as “high performing” in eight areas, including neurology and neurosurgery, colon cancer surgery and orthopedics.
“These latest results confirm the years of top rankings University of Utah Health has received in quality and patient satisfaction in the nation, including our recent #1 in Quality designation,” said Gordon Crabtree, interim CEO of University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, in the release. “I congratulate all our specialists and primary care providers for their diligent work in delivering high-quality care to patients in our community.”