Healthgrades has announced its 2026 Patient Safety Excellence Awards, recognizing 438 hospitals across 40 states that represent the top 10 percent of facilities nationwide for preventing serious safety events. The annual analysis carries a sobering finding: more than 100,000 patient safety events could have been avoided between 2022 and 2024 if all hospitals had matched the performance of this year's award recipients.
The gap between top-performing hospitals and the rest is stark. According to Healthline, patients treated at award-winning facilities were significantly less likely to experience the four most common preventable complications, which together account for roughly 78 percent of all safety events. Those include in-hospital falls resulting in fractures (52.4% less likely), collapsed lungs related to chest procedures (57.5% less likely), catheter-related bloodstream infections (67.8% less likely), and pressure sores developed during a stay (71.9% less likely).
To determine the recipients, Healthgrades analyzed hospital performance using inpatient MedPAR data and evaluated facilities across 13 patient safety indicators. These indicators track serious complications such as respiratory failure after surgery, surgical infections, and excessive bleeding following procedures. The analysis uses risk-adjusted data to account for differences in patient populations, then combines results into an overall safety score for each hospital.
"The data behind this year's Patient Safety Excellence Award highlights how measurable improvements in safety can prevent thousands of complications," said Alana Biggers, MPH, medical advisor at Healthgrades. She emphasized that hospitals prioritizing evidence-based safety practices "not only achieve better clinical outcomes, but also cultivate a culture where patients come first."
The findings offer a practical takeaway for anyone facing a hospital stay. With wide variation in safety performance persisting across the country, the rankings provide one tool for patients and families seeking to make more informed decisions about where they receive care.
