For the first time, Consumer Reports has rated hospitals on how well their patients fare during and after elective surgery, including hip and knee replacements. The Ratings, based on billing data, look at the percentage of a hospital’s Medicare patients who die in the hospital or stay longer than expected for their procedure. Research suggests that although there are other factors that can cause a prolonged hospital stay, the better hospitals can do in those two measures overall, the fewer complications their patients are likely to experience.
These surgery Ratings are part of an ongoing effort by Consumer Reports to use the best available data to help consumers compare hospital performance and make informed choices about their health care. "And we hope it also spurs hospitals to make more information accessible, so patients don't have to make these potentially life and death decisions in the dark," said John Santa, M.D., medical director of Consumer Reports Health.
How to use our hip and knee surgery Ratings
Shown below are the hospitals across the country that got our highest Rating for hip replacement surgery, and those that got our highest Rating for knee replacement surgery. You can get information for other hospitals by using our hospitals Ratings. Here's how:
- Go to our hospital Ratings.
- Click on your state.
- Select your city or county in the tool left hand selector and click on "update chart."
- At the top of the Ratings, click on “sort by surgery – adverse events."
- Select individual hospitals and hit "compare."
- Scroll down to “Patient Outcomes” and if the hospital has been rated you’ll find its rating under “avoiding adverse events in surgical patients.”
Highest-rated hospitals for hip surgery
Only 34 hospitals, in 20 states, earned our highest Rating for hip surgery, compared with 619 that got an average Rating and 80 that got our lowest mark. The highest-rated hospitals are shown below, arranged alphabetically within state.
Alabama
Thomas Hospital, Fairhope
Arizona
Arizona Spine and Joint Hospital, Mesa
Northwest Medical Center, Tucson
Yavapai Regional Medical Center, Prescott
California
Fresno Surgical Hospital, Fresno
Hoag Orthopedic Institute, Irvine
Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica
St. Joseph Hospital, Orange
Washington Hospital Healthcare System, Fremont
Colorado
Porter Adventist Hospital, Denver
Poudre Valley Hospital, Fort Collins
Connecticut
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford
Florida
Gulf Coast Medical Center, Panama City
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Jacksonville
Ocala Regional Medical Center, Ocala
Illinois
Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana
Indiana
Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital, Indianapolis
Parkview Ortho Hospital, Fort Wayne
Kansas
Stormont-Vail HealthCare, Topeka
Minnesotta
Fairview Southdale Hospital, Edina
Montana
St. Vincent Healthcare, Billings
North Carolina
Presbyterian-Orthopaedic Hospital, Charlotte
Rex Healthcare, Raleigh
Nevada
Sierra Surgery Hospital, Carson City
Ohio
Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital, New Albany
Oklahoma
McBride Clinic Orthopedic Hospital, Oklahoma City
South Carolina
Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, Greenville
South Dakota
Sioux Falls Surgical Center, Sioux Falls
Utah
Dixie Regional Medical Center, Saint George
Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Provo
Washington
Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Bellevue
Swedish Medical Center-First Hill, Seattle
Wisconsin
Bellin Memorial Hospital, Green Bay
Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital, Oconomowoc
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Highest-rated for knee surgery
More hospitals earned our highest Rating for knee surgery than for hip surgery: 128, in 34 states. That compares with 1,068 hospitals that got an average Rating, and 186 that got our lowest score. Shown below are the highest Rated hospitals for knee surgery, listed alphabetically within state.
Alabama
Huntsville Hospital, Huntsville
Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital, Phenix City
Arkansas
Arkansas Surgical Hospital, North Little Rock
Arizona
Arizona Orthopedic Surgical Hospital, Chandler
Arizona Spine and Joint Hospital, Mesa
Mayo Clinic Hospital, Phoenix
Oro Valley Hospital, Oro Valley
TMC Healthcare, Tucson
Yavapai Regional Medical Center - East, Prescott Valley
Yavapai Regional Medical Center, Prescott
California
Eisenhower Medical Center, Rancho Mirage
Fresno Surgical Hospital, Fresno
Hoag Orthopedic Institute, Irvine
Mercy Medical Center Redding, Redding
Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica
St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley, Saint Helena
St. Joseph Hospital, Orange
Washington Hospital Healthcare System, Fremont
Colorado
Avista Adventist Hospital, Louisville
McKee Medical Center, Loveland
Memorial Health System, Colorado Springs
OrthoColorado Hospital, Lakewood
Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, Colorado Springs
Porter Adventist Hospital, Denver
Poudre Valley Hospital, Fort Collins
Connecticut
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford
Delaware
Christiana Care Health System, Newark
Florida
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Sarasota
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Jacksonville
St. Vincent's Medical Center Riverside, Jacksonville
Georgia
Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta, Atlanta
Iowa
Iowa Specialty Hospital-Clarion, Clarion
Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, Mason City
Trinity Bettendorf, Bettendorf
Illinois
Proctor Hospital, Peoria
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
Indiana
Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital, Indianapolis
Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital, Muncie
Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital, Bloomington
Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center, Jasper
Orthopaedic Hospital of Lutheran Health Network, Fort Wayne
Parkview Ortho Hospital, Fort Wayne
Reid Hospital and Health Care Services, Richmond
St. Mary's Medical Center of Evansville, Evansville
St. Vincent Carmel Hospital, Carmel
Kansas
Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute, Leawood
Kansas Medical Center, Andover
Kansas Surgery and Recovery Center, Wichita
Stormont-Vail HealthCare, Topeka
Summit Surgical, LLC, Hutchinson
Kentucky
Flaget Memorial Hospital, Bardstown
Louisiana
CHRISTUS Schumpert Medical Center, Shreveport
Willis-Knighton Medical Center, Shreveport
Massachusetts
Holy Family Hospital and Medical Center, Methuen
Maryland
Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis
Meritus Medical Center, Hagerstown
Suburban Hospital, Bethesda
Minnesotta
Douglas County Hospital, Alexandria
Essentia Health St. Joseph's Medical Center, Brainerd
Fairview Ridges Hospital, Burnsville
Fairview Southdale Hospital, Edina
Lakeview Hospital, Stillwater
Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea, Albert Lea
Mercy Hospital, Coon Rapids
North Memorial Medical Center, Robbinsdale
Sanford Bemidji Medical Center, Bemidji
St. Cloud Hospital, Saint Cloud
North Carolina
CarolinaEast Health System, New Bern
Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital, Hendersonville
Mission Hospital, Asheville
New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Wilmington
North Carolina Specialty Hospital, Durham
Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville, Huntersville
Rex Healthcare, Raleigh
North Dakota
Trinity Health, Minot
Nebraska
Alegent Creighton Health Bergan Mercy Medical Center, Omaha
Lincoln Surgical Hospital, Lincoln
Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital, Omaha
Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, Lincoln
New Hampshire
Exeter Hospital, Exeter
New Jersey
Morristown Medical Center, Morristown
Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank
Valley Hospital, Ridgewood
New York
Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Kenmore
St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Utica
Ohio
Institute for Orthopaedic Surgery, Lima
Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital, New Albany
Northside Medical Center, Youngstown
Parma Community General Hospital, Parma
Samaritan Regional Health System, Ashland
Southwest General Health Center, Middleburg Heights
University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland
Oklahoma
McBride Clinic Orthopedic Hospital, Oklahoma City
Oklahoma Surgical Hospital, Tulsa
Pennsylvania
Coordinated Health-Bethlehem, Bethlehem
OSS Orthopaedic Specialty Hospital, York
Regional Hospital of Scranton, Scranton
Surgical Specialty Center at Coordinated Health, Allentown
Williamsport Regional Medical Center, Williamsport
South Carolina
Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, Greenville
Patewood Memorial Hospital, Greenville
Trident Medical Center, Charleston
South Dakota
Dakota Plains Surgical Center, Aberdeen
Sioux Falls Surgical Center, Sioux Falls
Siouxland Surgery Center, Dakota Dunes
Texas
Austin Surgical Hospital, Austin
Covenant Medical Center, Lubbock
Good Shepherd Medical Center, Longview
Houston Orthopedic and Spine Hospital, Bellaire
Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Hospital, San Antonio
Physicians Surgical Hospital - Quail Creek, Amarillo
St. Luke's Lakeside Hospital, The Woodlands
Texas Spine & Joint Hospital, Tyler
Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen, Harlingen
Utah
Dixie Regional Medical Center, Saint George
Lakeview Hospital, Bountiful
LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City
McKay-Dee Hospital Center, Ogden
Park City Medical Center, Park City
The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, Murray
Virginia
Wythe County Community Hospital, Wytheville
Washington
Grays Harbor Community Hospital, Aberdeen
Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Bellevue
Swedish Medical Center-First Hill, Seattle
UW Medicine/Valley Medical Center, Renton
Wisconsin
Bellin Memorial Hospital, Green Bay
Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin – Glendale, Milwaukee
Riverview Hospital Association, Wisconsin Rapids
Read our advice on smarter hip and knee repair and our safer-surgery survival guide. And use our hospital Ratings to get detailed information on more than 4,000 hospitals across the country, including information on how we rate hospitals.
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