Dartmouth-Hitchcock

Dartmouth-Hitchcock has again been cited for the quality of its programs, this time among the nation's premier health systems and teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs.

For the fourth consecutive year,Thomson Reuters, in its annual "100 Top Hospitals" rankings, has listed Dartmouth-Hitchcock among 30 leading institutions in its quantitative study identifying the nation's best providers of cardiovascular service, as measured on the 100 Top Hospitals Balanced Scorecard (PDF).

According to the study, this year's top cardiovascular hospitals are setting new standards compared to similar hospitals with:

• 12% lower treatment cost while providing higher quality care
• Significantly lower 30-day mortality rates
• Significantly lower 30-day readmission rates for patients with heart failure and heart attacks
• Better clinical efficiency, with patients returning to daily life an average of two-thirds of a day earlier

"We are pleased and proud to be included again with the nation's top cardiovascular programs," said Edward Catherwood MD, section chief of Cardiology at DHMC . "We have long believed that our collaborative efforts within all of the disciplines in the cardiovascular program have led to better patient outcomes. The data in the Thomson Reuters report validates that."

Dartmouth Hitchcock's cardiovascular program features clinical services that include ambulatory care and preventive services, acute inpatient care, advanced imaging, cardiac surgery, cardiovascular research and subspecialty training. A rapidly developing Dartmouth-Hitchcock Heart and Vascular Center will foster even more comprehensive cardiovascular services, education and research in the near future. DHMC is also a founding member and active participant in the Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock was also ranked among the 51 top-performing health systems nationwide, cited for "higher quality patient outcomes across the facilities in their system. The study highlights the opportunity for system leadership to impact quality initiatives and increase value to the communities they serve." Thomson Reuters analyzed 255 health systems nationwide for its health system benchmarks study.

For more information on the "100 Top Hospitals" cardiology rankings, see http://www.100tophospitals.com/top-cardio-hospitals/ or see the 100 Top Hospitals Balanced Scorecard (PDF)

For more on the health system rankings, visit http://www.100tophospitals.com/top-health-systems/

For more on Dartmouth-Hitchcock's cardiovascular services, visit the DHMC, Manchester, Nashua, and Concord location sites.