Penn Medicine stops submitting data to U.S. News ‘best hospital’ rankings

Penn Medicine officials announced Monday they would stop submitting data for the annual “best hospital” rankings by U.S. News & World Report, saying the evaluations are flawed and detract from the goal of patient care.

U.S. News is expected to continue ranking the health system’s six hospitals with publicly available government data. But starting in 2024, Penn’s health system will no longer contribute its internal data to the process. Penn is among the first to stop participating, echoing its move earlier this year to withdraw from the media outlet’s ranking of medical schools.

In the past, the hospitals sometimes “chased” the U.S. News rankings, said Kevin B. Mahoney, chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System — devoting time and money to improving performance on measures that mattered only because they were part of the media outlet’s methodology.

No longer. And even if the hospitals continue to score well by U.S. News standards, as they often have, the health system will no longer tout that success with billboards and other advertising, Mahoney said.

“We chased the rankings. I’m not chasing them anymore,” he said. “And you won’t see any billboards this summer, or anytime in the future.”

He added that they’ll still have billboards, just not with the U.S. News logo, for which he said Penn had paid many thousands of dollars to reproduce in its advertising. Penn Medicine also will start publishing performance data on its own website, he said.

In response to Penn’s announcement, U.S. News said its rankings were sound and had served as a valuable patient resource for decades. In an emailed statement, chief executive officer Eric Gertler said:

“Families facing a serious or complex medical problem deserve to have a place that helps them determine which hospital is the best suited for their individual needs. Consumers rely on information from trusted, independent sources like U.S. News, and we remain committed to serving them by evaluating and comparing all eligible hospitals on their quality of care.”

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Penn is among the first health system to say it will no longer submit data for the rankings. Another is St. Luke’s University Health System, headquartered in Bethlehem, Pa.

Penn’s health system includes six hospitals: the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, and Princeton Health. U.S. News treats the first two, HUP and Presbyterian, as one facility, currently ranking it 13th on a national “honor roll” of best hospitals.

The hospitals spent time and money to collect certain kinds of patient data only because they were required by the U.S. News methodology, Mahoney said. The requirements were so burdensome that the hospitals had to hire extra coders, health system officials said.

Another problem with the U.S. News rankings is that in the past, they have not accounted for the changing business model of health care, Mahoney said. The rankings are primarily focused on inpatient hospital care, yet 60% of Penn’s revenue comes from outpatient care, he said.

This year, for the first time, U.S. News says its rankings will incorporate the outcomes of outpatient surgeries.