Rankings, reorganizations, and partnerships: Here are our top patient experience stories of 2023

Rankings still matter a great deal, and at the very least, they gain a lot of public attention.

We’ve been counting down the most popular stories published by Chief Healthcare Executive® over the past year. Today, we look at the most popular stories on the patient experience. And some of the most popular stories focused on the popular ratings of hospitals and health systems.

Here’s a rundown of the five most-read patient experience stories.

1. US News announces best hospitals of 2023-24

U.S. News & World Report always gains wide attention for its rankings of the top hospitals, and this year was no exception.

This year, U.S. News released its rankings as some medical schools and law schools publicly criticized the annual reports and said they’d no longer actively participate in the reports.

Ben Harder, the U.S. News chief of health analysis, spoke with Chief Healthcare Executive about the ratings, the methodology, and some changes. U.S. News added more categories to its analysis, including more outpatient procedures and greater attention to health equity.

Harder says it’s important to recognize that U.S. News isn’t soliciting hospitals for information in the rankings, but it relies on publicly available data and, to a degree, expert opinion in assessing the hospitals.

“We don't survey hospitals for the rankings,” he says. “It's all third party data … they're not opting in, they're not opting out.”

• Read more: How U.S. News puts together its best hospitals ranking

2. Healthgrades releases rankings of America’s top 50 hospitals for 2023

After examining nearly 4,500 hospitals, Healthgrades released its picks for the best in America.

The organization, which aids consumers in finding hospitals, unveiled its picks for the top 50, the top 100 and the top 250 hospitals in the country.

Healthgrades says if all hospitals performed at the level of the top 250 in the country, its analysis indicates 160,615 lives could have been saved.

3. In a first, Healthgrades releases rankings on outpatient joint replacement

After focusing on doctors and hospitals treating patients who have been admitted, Healthgrades is now taking a look at outpatient procedures.

The organization released ratings and awards for hip replacement, knee replacement, and a “Joint Replacement Specialty Excellence Award.”

Brad Bowman, chief medical officer of Healthgrades, told Chief Healthcare Executive®, “You have to go where the action is.”

“A lot of healthcare is shifting to outpatient, both procedures and treatments,” Bowman said.

4. University of Texas Medical Branch president makes big moves

Jochen Reiser hasn’t wasted any time since his arrival in Texas.

In August, Reiser took on his new role as president of the University of Texas Medical Branch. Reiser unveiled a sweeping reorganization, including taking over as CEO of the UTMB Health System.

“If I ever were to come in charge of something, I want to make sure that all the missions are equally valued, and create an administrative model that follows those patterns,” Reiser says.

UTMB’s four pillars are the health system, education, research and innovation, he says.

“In order now to equally value all of them, we needed an administrative model, that is really more of a circle, that has equal representation of all of them,” he says.

5. Looking at Dana Farber’s new partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are coming together to build an adult inpatient hospital in Boston focused on cancer patients.

The new partnership also means Dana-Farber is moving on from its long relationship with Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dana-Farber’s partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital for inpatient and surgical care will continue through the transition, the organization said in a news release. Dana-Farber says it will likely take years before the new hospital is built, so there is no change in patient care at this time, and probably not for years to come.

Laurie H. Glimcher, president and CEO of Dana-Farber said in a statement that Beth Israel “shares our vision to create a forward-looking model of cancer care that further advances the patient and caregiver experience, expands access to value-driven care and fosters scientific discovery.”