Comparing Organizations with Benchmark Data

In seeking to compare organizations with benchmark data, this text will largely focus on two organizations, i.e. Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ and Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ. In so doing, the paper will not only describe the organizations selected, but also highlight how the said organizations compare to each other and to state as well as national averages. Further, the paper will attempt to explain differences (if any) in performance measures, while at the same time assessing how publicly reported data impacts safety and quality of hospitals.
Located in New Jersey’s Hackensack city, Bergen County, Hackensack University Medical Center prides itself in being the number 1 hospital in the State (HackensackUMC, 2018). Having been founded 130 years ago, this particular 900-bed “nonprofit, teaching and research hospital has grown to become the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in New Jersey” (HackensackUMC, 2018). The institution was selected for its relative size and commitment to nursing excellence. Towards this end, it is important to note that in addition to being one of the nation’s largest hospitals (on the basis of admissions), HackensackUMC was in 1995 awarded the ANCC Magnet badge of honor for its commitment to the further promotion and enhancement of nursing excellence. Overlook Medical Center, on the other hand, is located in New Jersey’s Summit City, Union County. This 504-bed healthcare institution is affiliated with the Atlantic Health System. This healthcare organization was selected for its advanced technology and research leadership in neuroscience care. More specifically, the medical center happens to be “the region’s leader in neuroscience care, offering a broad range of advanced neurological, neurosurgical and neurodiagnostic services” (Atlantic Health System, 2018). It has also, in the past, been offered The Joint Commission for perinatal care certification (Atlantic Health System, 2018).
In comparing the two organizations, the two quality measures utilized will be survey of patients’ experiences and timely and effective care. On patients’ experiences survey, there are 11 quality factors highlighted. These factors seek to assess patient experiences during their most recent stay in the hospital setting. HackensackUMC fared better than both State and national averages on most of the 11 quality factors. In comparison to both state and national averages, Overlook Medical Center performed dismally on this counter. Essentially, Overlook Medical Center fared better than HackensackUMC on only one counter – i.e. quietness of the area around patient room at night. When it comes to timely and effective care, the specific items highlighted therein “show how often hospitals provide care that research shows gets the best results for patients with certain conditions” (Medicare, 2018). With regard to emergency department care, patients who were rushed to Overlook Medical Center with broken bones had to wait for more minutes (69 minutes) before accessing pain medication than both national (52 minutes) and state averages (49 minutes) (Medicare, 2018). At 47 minutes, HackensackUMC performed better than Overlook Medical Center and was also a better performer on both the national and state levels. With regard to preventive care, Overlook Medical Center was the overall better performer, both at the national and state levels and in comparison to HackensackUMC. No patient in Overlook Medical Center developed a blood clot while in the medical center as a consequence of not receiving treatment that could have avoided the said blood clot - this is in comparison to 3% of patients at HackensackUMC and at both the state (2%) and national levels (2%).
It is important to note that the differences in performance measures highlighted above could be explained via an analysis of various factors. With regard to the survey of patient experiences, HackensackUMC emerges as the better performer. This could be explained by the institution’s commitment towards the further enhancement of staff talent so as to further enhance patient outcomes. This is an approach to patient-centeredness that “is increasingly being acknowledged as an integral part of evaluating health care” (Groene, 2011). Towards this end, the institution points out that it apportions greater emphasis on “scholarly involvements, advanced research, and a culture of innovation” (HackensackUMC, 2018). Overlook Medical Center comes across as a better performer with regard to timely and effective care. This is to say that in comparison to HackensackUMC, and while taking into consideration both state and national parameters, Overlook Medical Center gives “recommended care most often as part of the overall care” provided to patients (Medicare, 2018). This could be explained by the strict adherence the institution has to the definition of quality advanced by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Towards this end, Overlook Medical Center seeks to provide healthcare that is “safe, effective, patient centered, timely, efficient, and equitable” (Atlantic Health System, 2018). It should be noted that without standardized data, the comparison of data analysis would not have been possible. This is more so the case given the need for a clear basis for fair comparison. In an assessment of this nature, a common denominator allows relationships to be evaluated and comparisons to be drawn.
On the basis of the comparison of performance between HackensackUMC and Overlook Medical Center, it is possible to assess how the two institutions compare across on various counters, both to each other and on the state and national fronts. This paper focused on ‘survey of patients’ experiences’ and ‘timely and effective care’ as the comparison bases. Towards this end, both institutions appear to have unique strengths and weaknesses.

References
Atlantic Health System (2018). Who We Are. Retrieved from https://www.atlantichealth.org/about-us/who-we-are/approach-care.html
Groene, O. (2011). Patient Centeredness and Quality Improvement Efforts in Hospitals: Rationale, Measurement, Implementation. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 23(5), 531–537.
HackensackUMC (2018). Who We Are. Retrieved from https://www.hackensackumc.org/about/
Medicare (2018). Compare Hospitals. Retrieved from https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/compare.html#cmprTab=0&cmprID=310001%2C310051&cmprDist=0.0%2C0.0&stsltd=NJ&dist=25&lat=0&lng=0&state=NJ