If there’s one trend that has had staying power in American health care, it’s been the rise of the system. Today, roughly two-thirds of American hospitals belong to a health system, up from 10% in 1970, and those systems have inevitably become larger and increasingly diversified providers of care—with some owning physician specialty groups, surgical centers, and home care services among other business.
In this spirit, the PINC AI 15 Top Health Systems study crunches the numbers on this increasingly dominant landscape to identify the nation’s best performers and provide a benchmark for others. In its 15th year, the study relies on Medicare data and considers clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, and patient experience at 361 U.S. health systems to determine standout organizations. The list honors five systems per size category—small, medium, and large—though due to a tie, this year includes six medium-sized systems.
