The University Medical Center has been listed in the 2006 Solucient 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success for performing well in areas such as patient safety, efficiency and clinical outcomes.

The UMC appears on the list as one of the top 100 major teaching hospitals in the U.S., and the study appears in this month’s Modern Healthcare magazine.

“”It is a well-deserved honor because it’s a good hospital that has a conscientious staff and faculty,”” said Dr. John Hughes, chief of staff of UMC and associate professor in the UA department of surgery.

Doctors and officials alike shared the same feelings of accomplishment after receiving word that the UMC made the list.

“”I already think the world of the folks here and this is exciting for us because it acknowledges that we’ve done a lot of good things,”” said Greg Pivirotto, president and CEO of UMC.

Solucient, a national health care institution that is part of Thomson Health Care, conducted the study. Thomson Health Care provides solutions and information regarding the quality of health care, according to Solucient.

What makes this list different from other top 100 lists is the way the hospitals are measured. Instead of examining one kind of criteria or one aspect of the hospital, Solucient looks at a large number of criteria across wide areas, said David Wilkins, public relations official for Thomson Health Care.

“”The top 100 are benchmark hospitals that are performing at their best,”” Wilkins said. “”(The list) is a service to hospitals to evaluate themselves against those benchmarks.””

Another difference is how the study is taken from a more statistical angle rather than a subjective one.

This study is based on hard statistical information while most other top 100 lists, such as those done by U.S. News & World Report magazine, are more subjective and focus more on the reputation of the hospital or how many well-known physicians are at the hospital, Pivirotto said.

Hospital Information for the study was taken from three sources: the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Standard Analytical File Outpatient data set and the Medicare Cost Report. Each source pertained to patient care, patient health or cost effectiveness of the hospital, according to the Solucient 100 Top National 2006 document.

The study measures and compares hospitals according to clinical excellence, efficiency and financial health and responsiveness to the community. More specifically, things like the patient safety, survival rates, financial stability and basic treatment standards used to find hospitals that perform higher compared to other hospitals, according to the Solucient 100 Top National 2006 document.

“”It is a sign of quality and reassurance that they (faculty, staff and employees) are involved with a high quality hospital and are well taken care of,”” Hughes said.

Though the study is used mostly as a way for hospitals to compare with other hospitals, people can also benefit from the study by looking at a wide variety of hospitals and comparing them to suit their needs.

“”It is an incredible reflection on the doctors, nurses and staff, but does it mean we’re perfect? No, but it gives patients a basis of comparison,”” Pivirotto said.