Study Reveals U.S. Markets with the Best Value of Care

Want to be sure you are spending your healthcare dollars wisely? Fortunately, the latest version of the Hospital Value Index reveals that informed healthcare consumers can find high-value healthcare in every corner of the United States. In fact, the study of more than 4,500 U.S. hospitals finds communities with hospitals with fewer than 300 beds consistently rank among those with the best value in the nation, according to Hal Andrews, CEO of Data Advantage, the company behind the Hospital Value Index.

“Our findings show that the best value of care often exists in smaller markets where patients access community-based hospitals, not just in large academic medical centers,” said Andrews. “For consumers, it is encouraging to know that the healthcare providers in communities like Dothan, Alabama, Billings, Montana or Dubuque, Iowa deliver some of the best value in the nation.”

These findings are among a number of interesting results in the 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index, the most comprehensive and current examination of the value of hospital care available today.

Communities with hospitals delivering America’s best value of hospital care include:

• Dothan, Alabama
• Minden, Louisiana
• Tawas City, Michigan
• Clarksburg, West Virginia
• Billings, Montana
• Dubuque, Iowa
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Amsterdam, New York
• Bangor, Maine
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

“In light of the ongoing discussion of healthcare reform in Washington, D.C., we were curious to identify markets where value is easy to find, as well as markets where value is a precious commodity,” said John Morrow, one of the authors of the study. “We were surprised to find that California has only two hospitals among the top 100 Best in Value™ hospitals. In contrast, states as diverse as New York, Alabama and Iowa each have at least six hospitals in the top 100.”

The latest study from the Hospital Value Index used the most current and comprehensive set of publicly available data, including Hospital Compare data released in July 2009, to survey more than 4,500 U.S. hospitals to discover where patients can find the best value of care in their community. The Hospital Value Index researchers analyzed a variety of public data on hospital quality, price, efficiency, and patient satisfaction for the study.

“The Hospital Value Index includes more data points from more hospitals than any other study,” said Morrow. “As a result, our findings point us to a broader spectrum of markets that will help consumers and might help reformers in D.C. better understand the healthcare delivery system.”