Quality and Safety of Patient Care

Hospitals and doctors are not all alike. Across the nation and within your community, there are significant variations in the training and expertise of health care providers. The hospital and medical team you choose is an important personal choice, affecting you and your family.

At UC San Diego Health, we are dedicated to delivering the highest quality, safest care for every patient, every time. We encourage you to become an informed consumer.

Hospital Compare

As part of our commitment to excellence in safety and quality, UC San Diego Health participates in Hospital Compare, a consumer-oriented website that enables side-by-side comparisons of hospitals. There is also patient education on choosing a hospital.

Quality and Transparency

In partnership with the California Hospital Association, the Hospital Quality Institute produces quarterly Quality Transparency Dashboards that contain publically available patient safety data for hospitals. This quantitative information is compiled and shared to help improve patient care and innovation.

Read our most recent quality report.

Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission

Earning a Gold Seal from The Joint Commission signifies the highest level of quality care for our patients. Our Gold Seal Advanced Certification Programs include:

Read The Joint Commission's Quality Report

"A's" for Hospital Safety

UC San Diego Health's hospitals in both La Jolla and Hillcrest earned top marks for hospital safety from The Leapfrog Group in the fall of 2019. UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest was also named a Top Teaching Hospital in 2018. The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit organization that advocates quality, safety and transparency in the nation’s health care system.

Quality Leadership Award

In September 2019, UC San Diego Health was named a top performer in the 2019 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award category by Vizient, Inc. This award places UC San Diego Health among the top 10 academic medical centers in the U.S. for patient care.

Four-Star CMS Rating

In February 2019, UC San Diego Health received a four-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the quality of our hospital care to Medicare Advantage patients. The four-star rating reflects our high performance in patient safety and survival, as well as patient experience.

Stroke Honor Roll

In May 2018, we earned the Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. We were also listed on its Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll. Both distinctions recognize our commitment to saving the lives of stroke patients.

Reports on Our High Quality of Care

The following reports provide objective measures of the care we provide: