The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery continues to be recognized among the nation’s top programs, ranking 15th in the country in this year’s U.S. News & World Report "Best Hospitals" list. The medical center achieved national rankings in nine of 15 specialties, with four additional areas designated as “high-performing.”
Leading the department’s ranking efforts are Vinay Rathi, MD, MBA, and Lauren Miller, MD, MBA, assistant professors of otolaryngology, who have driven a systematic, data-informed approach to performance improvement. “The ranking is an important way for us as a department to communicate to our patients and our peers the quality of care that we provide,” Dr. Rathi notes. “We are fortunate that our historically strong ranking has recently improved to better reflect the excellent care we provide.”
Dr. Miller adds, “Working on this project has allowed us to demonstrate our department’s commitment to sustaining the exceptional standards we’re known for. Our continuous enhancements are the result of a thoughtful and strategic approach, undertaken for the benefit of our patients as well as our institution and peers.”
Understanding the metrics behind the rankings
The U.S. News & World Report rankings are driven heavily by patient outcomes – most notably, risk-adjusted mortality and discharge-to-home rates. These measures rely on the accurate capture of Elixhauser variables, a standardized set of comorbidities such as congestive heart failure, diabetes, renal failure and other pre-existing conditions derived from ICD codes. These variables form the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI), a validated tool used in health care research and quality assessment to quantify a patient’s underlying disease burden beyond the primary diagnosis. Proper documentation of these variables directly influences predicted mortality, length of stay, resource utilization and U.S. News & World Report performance.
Recognizing their impact, Drs. Miller and Rathi partnered closely with hospital leadership – including the quality and clinical documentation teams led by Stacy Brethauer, MD, vice chair of Quality and Patient Safety for Surgery – to improve the systematic and accurate capture of Elixhauser variables across all stages of patient care. Their work ensures that the complexity of the department’s clinical population is fully represented and appropriately reflected in outcome measures.
A collaborative effort to sustain excellence
Although Drs. Rathi and Miller lead the initiative, they emphasize that the department’s ranking reflects collective effort across faculty, trainees, quality teams and hospital leadership. “Some of this is really work that was done before us, and some of it was work we conducted for the 2024 cycle,” Dr. Miller explains. “Our team is excited that the improvements we’re making now will be visible in next year’s rankings.”
Their work also ensures that the department continues to contribute meaningfully to the medical center’s overall performance. As the highest-ranked department at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, Otolaryngology has a significant influence on the institution’s standing. “Inclusion into the honor roll is based, in large part, on the number of departments that are highly ranked and how highly ranked they are,” says Dr. Rathi. “We are working to ensure we maintain that high standard for the department.”
Beyond the outcome metrics, the department’s national reputation score has increased every year since 2017, underscoring the high regard Ohio State Otolaryngology commands among physicians nationwide.
“As chair of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, I am exceptionally grateful for the disciplined, thoughtful work that underpins our continued national recognition,” says James Rocco, PhD, chair of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. “The improvements in our ranking are not the result of chance, but of deliberate efforts now led by Dr. Lauren Miller, MD, MBA, and Dr. Vinay Rathi, MD, MBA, whose dual clinical and business training positions them uniquely well to navigate the administrative complexity of this initiative and engage effectively with senior hospital leadership.”
“Their leadership in strengthening the departmental documentation of Elixhauser variables has been critical to ensuring that our patient complexity and clinical outcomes are accurately represented. At the same time, our steadily rising reputation score highlights how positively our peers view the care we deliver and the faculty who provide it. This work reflects the best of who we are: a department committed to excellence, transparency and continual improvement in service of our patients and our academic mission.”