At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL), we are committed to helping members make informed health care choices and decisions. One resource that provides members with hospital performance information is the annual Blue Star Hospital Report. Members can use this information as an additional resource to help them choose the hospital that best meets their needs.

Measuring Performance in Illinois
The Blue Star Hospital Report – based on the annual BCBSIL Hospital Profile – summarizes the results of quality and safety performance measures for 94 urban Illinois hospitals.   

Hospital profiles are compiled from data collected from multiple sources, including: BCBSIL claim data, annual BCBSIL member survey, information provided by the hospitals, and publicly available information from entities such as the Leapfrog Group,^† Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and accrediting entities.

For the Blue Star Hospital Report, each hospital's performance is reported for two indicators in each of five categories: Structure, Process, Outcomes, Member Survey and Efficiency. One blue star can be earned for each indicator, for a maximum of 10 blue stars.

View the Blue Star Hospital Report

How to Read the Report and Summary of Results
Hospital performance was evaluated for the following categories and indicators. To help make comparisons more valid, the BCBSIL contracted hospitals (94 urban Illinois hospitals) are divided into five peer groups. Below are the criteria and results for the hospitals (the number and percentage of hospitals earning each blue star is noted).

Structure

• Accreditation/board certification: Hospital is accredited and documented that at least 85 percent of active medical staff members are board certified.
  68 hospitals (72%) earned a blue star

• Participation in state and national quality improvement initiatives: Hospital submitted documentation that met criteria for participation in multiple state and national programs designed to improve the quality of patient care and/or patient safety.
  70 hospitals (74%) earned a blue star

Process

• Leapfrog: Hospital publicly reported to Leapfrog, and received recognition for either Full Implementation or Substantial Progress on at least one of the following "Leaps:" Prevent Medication Errors, Appropriate ICU Staffing, Steps to Avoid Harm or Managing Serious Errors.
  42 hospitals (45%) earned a blue star

• Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) Indicators: Hospital earned at least 50 percent of the maximum points possible, based on publicly available HQA data.
  49 hospitals (52%) earned a blue star

Outcomes

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Inpatient Quality Indicators: Hospital was in the best quartile within its peer group for mortality rates for six specific medical conditions.
  27 hospitals (29%)^††  earned a blue star

• AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators: Indicators showed that hospital complication rates were lower than many peer hospitals.
  29 hospitals (31%)^††  earned a blue star

Member Survey

• Overall satisfaction: Hospital received an overall satisfaction composite score of at least 88 percent on a survey sent to BCBSIL members.
  43 hospitals (46%)^††  earned a blue star

• Education and coordination of care: Hospital scored at least 80 percent on a composite of quality and safety-related member survey indicators.
  52 hospitals (55%)^††  earned a blue star

Efficiency

• Utilization efficiency: The ratio of actual to expected length of stay for the hospital's own case mix was in the top half of the peer group.
  49 hospitals (52%) earned a blue star
  

• Administrative efficiency: The hospital submitted at least 92 percent of its claims to BCBSIL electronically.
  87 hospitals (93%) earned a blue star

All percentages are rounded.

View the Blue Star Hospital Report

^† The Leapfrog Group is a consortium of large companies focused on health care safety, quality and customer value.
^†† Not all of the 94 hospitals had sufficient data to qualify for these blue stars.