BACKGROUND The rankings of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report are influential, but the performance of ranked hospitals in caring for patients with routine cardiac conditions such as heart failure is not known. METHODS AND RESULTS Using hierarchical regression models based on medical administrative data from the period July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, we calculated risk-stan...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether crude league tables of mortality and league tables of risk adjusted mortality accurately reflect the performance of hospitals. DESIGN Longitudinal study of mortality occurring in hospital. SETTING 9 neonatal intensive care units in the United Kingdom. SUBJECTS 2671 very low birth weight or preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units between 1988 a...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In many countries, including Sweden, initiatives have been taken to reduce between-hospital differences in the quality of stroke services. We have explored to what extent hospital type (university, specialized nonuniversity, or community hospital) influences hospital performance. METHODS Riksstroke collects clinical data during hospital stay (national coverage 94%). Fol...