Phoenix VA Healthcare System notches quality rating for first time
Staff Reports | Digital Free Press
The Phoenix VA Healthcare System has received a 4-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Phoenix VA officials report this is the first time CMS has included VA facilities in their annual overall hospital quality star ratings.
The CMS uses five categories — mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care — to award a quality rating for each hospital. The more stars (out of 5), the better a hospital performed on the available quality measures.
Overall, 67% of VA hospitals included in the CMS annual Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings received either 4 or 5 stars, compared to only 41% of non-VA hospitals.
These findings are the latest in a series of recent evaluations showing the effectiveness of VA health care compared to non-VA health care.
VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals on all 10 core patient satisfaction metrics in the recent Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Star Ratings, and a recent systematic review of more than 40 peer-reviewed studies found that VA health care is consistently as good as — or better than — non-VA health care.
“Our job at the Phoenix VA is to deliver premiere care to every veteran who walks through our doors,” said Phoenix VA Medical Center Director Bryan Matthews. “We’re proud of these findings and will continue to improve and provide world-class, high-quality care to our veterans every day.”
