Houston Northwest Medical Center—a 339-bed teaching hospital—received the top ranking in the Raleigh, N.C.-based Axial Exchange’s Texas Patient Engagement Index (PEI), which ranks U.S. hospitals based on an analysis of publically available data in three categories: personal health management, patient satisfaction and social media engagement.

Axial Exchange’s methodology for ranking hospitals’ patient engagement performance is based on analyzing metrics that research has indicated lower costs and improve clinical outcomes. For each PEI, Axial Exchange evaluates provider organizations’ personal health management strategies, awarding maximum points to those organizations that not only offer electronic access to patient health records, but also provide resources for ongoing disease management support, including mobile, tablet and desktop tools. Axial Exchange also ranks hospitals according to an annual Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) patient satisfaction survey called the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (HCAHPS), a standardized instrument for measuring patients' perspectives on hospital care. Lastly, Axial Exchange analyzes the extent to which hospitals and health systems engage their patients via social networking channels.

The highest possible ranking a hospital can receive in Axial Exchange PEI is a score of 100. Top ranking hospitals in the Texas PEI included Houston Northwest Medical Center  received an overall score of 84; Park Plaza Hospital, in Houston, received a score of 83; and Providence Memorial Hospital in El Paso, which received a 76. Lower ranking hospitals in the PEI included notable healthcare institutions like Dallas-based Parkland Hospital, which scored a 41; and University Hospital in San Antonio, which scored a 36.

This is the second regional PEI that the company has issued; the first ranked top hospitals in Florida. Both states were selected because their demographics make them bellwethers for the rest of the country.