Cal Hospital Compare (CHC), a nonprofit organization providing Californian residents with hospital performance ratings, announced its 2024 statewide honor rolls for opioid care and patient safety. Scripps Health has earned top spots on both lists.

“Our teams work hard to improve patient care continually, and this recognition is just one more sign that we are succeeding in important ways,” said Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health. “It’s rewarding to see an independent organization verify the exceptional care we provide for our patients.”

Opioid Care Honor Roll

CHC named all four of Scripps Health’s hospitals to the sustained superior performance tier of this year’s Opioid Care Honor Roll, the highest possible category, available only to hospitals with a superior ranking for at least two consecutive years. Scripps’ four hospitals — Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, Scripps Green Hospital, and Scripps Mercy Hospital (San Diego and Chula Vista campuses) — are the only local healthcare facilities named to the sustained superior performance tier in 2024.

CHC invited all 347 California adult acute-care hospitals to submit self-assessments for consideration on this year’s honor roll, and 157 participated. The self-assessments covered questions about four domains of care: safe and effective opioid use, identifying and treating patients with opioid use disorder, harm reduction strategies, and applying opioid management best practices that influence the success of the first three domains.

For this year’s Opioid Care Honor Roll, CHC named 30 California hospitals to the sustained superior performance tier, 25 to the superior performance tier, and 39 to the excellent progress tier. CHC recognized the remaining hospitals for performance improvement and program participation.

CHC recognized Scripps for taking a variety of approaches to address the overuse of opioids among its hospital patients. In recent years, Scripps has decreased the number of high-dose opioids prescribed at discharge and reduced the number of opioid prescriptions that exceed seven days. The hospital system also achieved improved application of alternative pain management options, such as non-opioid medications, aromatherapy, and music therapy.

Additionally, Scripps expanded its medication-assisted therapy programs at its hospital emergency departments. Physicians can administer medications such as buprenorphine as a bridge for patients with opioid use disorder until they can receive further care in the community. Scripps has experienced an increase in buprenorphine prescriptions in its EDs and a rise in prescriptions written for naloxone, which is used to reverse opioid overdoses.

Scripps also has added fentanyl testing to its standard multi-drug test panel administered to patients in its emergency departments. Such screening provides vital information to doctors and patients, who may not otherwise be aware of an ingested drug containing fentanyl. This knowledge can lead to lifestyle changes, addiction treatment, or a prescription for naloxone.

Patient Safety Honor Roll

CHC named two Scripps hospitals — Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas and Scripps Green Hospital — to this year’s Patient Safety Honor Roll.

The 2024 Patient Safety Honor Roll recognizes 72 adult acute-care hospitals with high safety profiles compared to other hospitals in California. Hospitals were evaluated using objective, publicly available safety measures across various domains, including hospital-acquired infections, adverse patient safety events, sepsis management, patient experience, and Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. In the spring of 2024, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas and Scripps Green Hospital earned A grades from Leapfrog.

Scripps has recently undertaken several efforts to improve patient safety at its hospitals. The health system’s various hospital units incorporate this model care approach, which includes multidisciplinary care teams and standardized, collaborative processes to enhance efficiency and consistency and improve patient outcomes. 

Scripps’ sprint and task force teams bring together representatives from across the Scripps Health system, including leaders from hospital and ambulatory locations, various care lines, and front-line staff. These team members work together to address Scripps’ most challenging workflows, all within a collaborative team environment to implement change and solve problems.