Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital did not earn status as a top-20 hospital in the U.S. News & World Report 2017-2018 Best Hospitals Honor Roll, marking the first time the hospital missed such recognition in 24 years, according to the Boston Globe.
Here are seven things to know.
1. Allen Kachalia, MD, the hospital's chief quality officer, said the change in ranking was largely due to the added emphasis U.S. News placed on Magnet designation in recent years, according to the Globe.
2. Magnet designation is made by the American Nurses' Credentialing Center, an affiliate of the American Nurses Association, to hospitals with superior nursing practices. Brigham and Women's applied for the designation in 2014, but does not expect to receive the distinction until next year.
3. Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News, told the Globe the weight of Magnet status in the ratings process did not change dramatically this year. Mr. Harder did say the hospital was affected by changes made to the way the publication measures patient safety.
4. For this year's rankings, U.S. News dropped measures for a specific lung injury and for surgical wound complications because of the rarity of the two complications and the lack of meaningful differentiation between hospitals regarding these measures.
"Many hospitals that historically did very well on our patient safety measures — and Brigham and Women's Hospital is among those — received scores that were closer to average this year," Mr. Harder told the Globe via email. "It's important to emphasize that this change is related to how we measure care, not a change in the quality of the care that any hospital delivered."
5. The hospital will reportedly curb marketing activities touting its place on the U.S. News Honor Roll.
"While it is wonderful to receive awards and accolades, they do not define us as an institution," the hospital said, according to an email the hospital planned to send to staff on Tuesday, according to the Globe.
6. Dr. Kachlia told the Globe the hospital did not protest its drop from the list and commended the publication for continually making adjustments to find the best way to evaluate hospitals. However, Dr. Kachlia maintained that the high quality of care delivered at Brigham and Women's has not diminished in the last year.
"It's not like we've changed anything," said Dr. Kachalia, according to the Globe. "Our care here is still the best care possible."
7. U.S. News & World Report has published its Best Hospitals list for 28 years. The publication has ranked Brigham and Women's as high as No. 6 on the list. For 2017-2018, Brigham and Women's is listed in the top 10 for gynecology and rheumatology, and cancer care.
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