SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Understanding the Impact of Hospital Acquisitions on Quality of Care

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This study examined whether recent Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Health regional hospital acquisitions improved quality of care. Using Vizient Clinical Data Base and a pre/post-acquisition observational design, the team compared hospital performance within 6 months before acquisition and 1 year after acquisition. Outcomes included overall Vizient rank plus mortality, safety, and patient-centeredness, converted to percentile ranks because cohort sizes varied by year.<br /><br />Overall, all five MUSC Health regional hospital acquisitions showed improved post-acquisition overall percentile rank, with four of the five hospitals performing better than average after acquisition. However, results for individual quality measures were mixed. Mortality and overall rank generally improved in more recent acquisitions, while safety outcomes were worse in earlier acquisitions, likely influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which hospital-acquired conditions worsened nationally. One hospital appeared to be an outlier.<br /><br />The findings suggest that acquisitions may have contributed to quality improvement over time, especially as MUSC Health applied lessons learned from earlier acquisitions and increased system-level standardization. Reported improvement strategies included earlier electronic health record integration, nursing infrastructure, standardized mortality-related practices, safety reporting systems, and structured process improvement.<br /><br />The study concludes that recent acquisitions were associated with better overall quality performance, but safety and patient-centeredness remain key opportunities for improvement across the regional network. Further hospital-specific analysis is needed to understand the drivers of variation in outcomes.

Asset Subtitle

Nancy L. Hagood

Meta Tag

Author List Danielle B. Scheurer, Marc Heincelman, Meghan Thomas, Nancy L. Hagood, Patterson Burch

Category Research

Concept Hospital Acquisition

Concept Healthcare Quality

Concept Percentile Ranking

Concept Mortality

Concept Patient Safety

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Medical University of South Carolina

Presenting Author Nancy L. Hagood

Track Quality Improvement

Keywords

MUSC Health

hospital acquisitions

quality of care

Vizient Clinical Data Base

pre-post observational study

percentile ranks

mortality outcomes

patient safety

patient-centeredness

health system standardization

Hospital Acquisition

Healthcare Quality

Percentile Ranking

Mortality

Patient Safety