---
title: "Sutter Health Named a Top-Performing Health System | Sutter Health"
description: "IBM Watson Health's 2021 rankings recognize Sutter Health and Sutter Health Valley Area among 26 top-performing large health systems nationwide."
url: "https://vitals.sutterhealth.org/media-resources/press-releases/ibm-watson-2021"
---

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4.  Ibm Watson 2021

# Health Systems Recognized as Top-Performing for Quality

IBM Watson Health's 2021 rankings recognize Sutter Health and Sutter Health Valley Area among 26 top-performing large health systems nationwide.

May 5, 2021 by Sutter Health

![Health Systems Recognized as Top-Performing for Quality](https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/sutterhealt962c-sutterhealt8fce-production57cc-4860/media/Project/SutterHealth/Vitals/press-releases/HospitalAward_LI-58fce9c0.jpg?h=628&iar=0&w=1200 "Health Systems Recognized as Top-Performing for Quality")

**Annual health system rankings are based on clinical outcomes, operational efficiency and patient experience data.**

[IBM Watson Health](https://www.ibm.com/watson-health) recently announced its [2021 Fortune Media/IBM Watson Health Top Health Systems](https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/GDBBYRWE) award winners, recognizing Sutter Health and Sutter Health Valley Area for helping provide high-quality care at a lower average cost.

“Our patients, their families and the communities we serve are at the center of everything we do and every decision we make,” said Sutter Health president and CEO Sarah Krevans. “This recognition honors the extraordinary work and commitment of our doctors, nurses and care support teams who help us uphold our not-for-profit mission and deliver excellent health outcomes at a lower total cost of care.”

For the 2021 analysis IBM Watson Health gathered data on 324 health systems, classifying 129 health systems as “large.” Within the “large” category, 26 health systems, including the Sutter Health system and the Sutter Health Valley Area operating unit, set themselves apart for superior performance on care quality, patient satisfaction, cost per episode of illness and operational efficiency.

Formerly known as the Truven Health Analytics® Top Health Systems honors, a 2021 study demonstrated that top-performing health systems delivered better health outcomes at lower cost than others. In fact, individual hospitals that were aligned with top-performing health systems were more likely to consistently deliver high quality clinical care while meeting cost efficiency thresholds based on Medicare spending per beneficiary.

The data sets used to determine a health system’s performance are all publicly available and most are based on care that was delivered in 2019 or earlier.

The Sutter Health system and the Sutter Health Valley Area previously earned Top Health Systems honors in 2015 and 2016.

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