Healthgrades has announced its 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Awards, recognizing hospitals that deliver the safest inpatient care and the strongest prevention of serious complications. This year’s recipients include 438 hospitals in 40 states — roughly the top 10% of U.S. hospitals for patient safety.
Healthgrades’ analysis finds that more than 100,000 patient safety events from 2022 through 2024 might have been avoided if all hospitals matched the performance of these award winners. Patients treated at the honored hospitals were far less likely to experience the four most common patient safety indicators (PSIs), which represent about 78% of reported safety events:
– In-hospital falls causing fractures: 52.4% less likely
– Procedure- or chest surgery–related collapsed lungs (pneumothorax): 57.5% less likely
– Hospital-acquired catheter-related bloodstream infections: 67.8% less likely
– Pressure ulcers (bed sores) developed during a hospital stay: 71.9% less likely
Alana Biggers, MPH, a medical advisor at Healthgrades, noted that the data behind the awards shows how measurable safety improvements can prevent thousands of complications. She said hospitals that adopt evidence-based safety practices not only improve clinical outcomes but also build a patient-first culture that helps patients and families make more informed care decisions.
How recipients were selected
Healthgrades based the awards on an analysis of inpatient MedPAR data, evaluating hospitals across 13 patient safety indicators that capture serious complications such as respiratory failure after surgery, surgical site infections, and excessive bleeding after procedures. Results are risk-adjusted for differences in patient populations and combined into an overall patient safety score to rank hospitals nationwide. Hospitals in the top 10% on that score receive the Patient Safety Excellence Award.
To be eligible, facilities must meet clinical quality thresholds, report data on at least 7 of 8 core patient safety indicators, and have no documented instances of foreign objects left in patients after procedures.
Using safety rankings when choosing care
Hospital safety ratings and awards can highlight measurable differences in outcomes like complication rates and preventable safety events, but experts advise using them as one of several decision tools. Robert Bonar, Dr.H.A., a professor of healthcare administration at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, recommends that patients also weigh their specific medical needs, physician experience, and guidance from trusted clinicians.
Bonar suggests prioritizing sources that rely on statistically sound outcomes and measurable data — including complication, morbidity, and mortality rates — and consulting multiple inputs such as safety ratings, patient reviews, and conversations with clinicians to get a complete picture of a hospital’s performance.
The full list of 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients and Healthgrades’ methodology are available on the Healthgrades website.
Healthgrades and Healthline are part of the RVO Health portfolio. Healthgrades is owned by RVO Health.
