independent healthcare

(HealthGrades) Patients have on average a 70 percent lower chance of dying at the nation's top-rated hospitals compared with the lowest-rated hospitals across 17 procedures and conditions analyzed in the eleventh annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

Based on the study, HealthGrades today made available its 2009 quality ratings for all nonfederal hospitals in the country at www.healthgrades.com.

(HealthGrades) Bariatric surgery patients treated at highly rated hospitals have, on average, a 65 percent lower chance of experiencing serious complications compared to patients who undergo surgery at poorly rated hospitals according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the nations leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

As part of the study, the quality ratings of hospitals performing bariatric surgery in 17 states became available today at www.healthgrades.com.

(HealthGrades) Large variations among hospitals persist in the quality of maternity and cardiac care for women, according to a new study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

The Fifth Annual HealthGrades Women's Health in American Hospitals study analyzes the quality of care at US hospitals in 17 states for treatment of heart disease and stroke among women and for women giving birth, with ratings for individual hospitals posted to www.HealthGrades.com.

HealthGrades, the nation's leading independent healthcare ratings organization, today identified America's 50 Best Hospitals, an elite class of top-performing facilities.

The HealthGrades America's 50 Best Hospital designation represents the healthcare industry's only quality ranking based solely on objective clinical outcomes among US hospitals.