U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Hospitals” to include American Heart Association quality improvement registries
DALLAS, October 28, 2020 —Four quality improvement registries from the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG) programs will be included in U.S News and World Report’s transparency scoring for the 2021-22 Cardiology & Heart Surgery specialty ranking. The four registries are GWTG-Heart Failure, GWTG-Atrial Fibrillation, GWTG-Coronary Artery Disease, and GWTG-Resuscitation.
The American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives, collects in-hospital data from sites participating in programs focused on improving patient care and outcomes while adhering to the latest scientific treatment guidelines through its GWTG quality improvement registries. GWTG data contain evidence-based quality achievement measures that can help inform patient decision making.
“The GWTG achievement measures are based on strong evidence and the public reporting website provides patients with easy-to-understand, transparent, and reliable information when reviewing and selecting options for high-quality health care,” said John J. Warner, M.D., FAHA, chair of the quality oversight committee and past president of the American Heart Association and executive vice president of health system affairs for UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The Association launched its public reporting website in November 2019. In less than a year, more than 1,800 hospitals have voluntarily chosen to publicly report their achievement measure data.
“For the first time, U.S News and World Report‘s has included the Get with the Guidelines registries as part of their public reporting of Best Hospitals rankings which underscores the importance of continuous quality improvement,” said Nancy Brown, chief executive officer for the American Heart Association. “This is particularly important for patients to make informed data-driven decisions regarding their health care options.”
GWTG-Stroke sites who were publicly reporting by the end of 2019 were included in the 2020-21 U.S News and World Report Neurology & Neurosurgery rankings and the stroke registry will continue to be part of the 2021-22 transparency credit for sites opting in during 2020.
All hospitals who wish to receive transparency credit in the 2021-22 U.S. News rankings must opt-in to publicly report their GWTG data during the November 2-24 opt-in period and appear on the website by December 31, 2020. Hospitals not currently opting in will receive an opt-in form for each GWTG program in which they participate on November 2 and needs to be completed by November 24. It is important to note that data from 2019 are displayed on the website and these are the data that transparency credit will be based on in U.S. News’ rankings.
GWTG hospitals may check their public reporting status by accessing the website. Sites are encouraged to reach out to their local AHA representative if they are not currently publicly reporting and do not receive an opt-in form on November 2.
Additional resources:
- Press release – Voluntary Public Reporting of hospital measure performance data now available, October 29, 2019
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About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through collaboration with numerous organizations, and powered by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for the public’s health and share lifesaving resources. The Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information for nearly a century. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.
For Media Inquiries: (214) 706-4831
Karen Springs, karen.springs@heart.org
For Public Inquiries: (800) AHA-USA1 (242-8721) heart.org
