Hospitals today face pressures from a variety of stakeholders to improve performance and quality across a growing number of comparative process and outcome measures which has become the basis for value based purchasing and reimbursement. This study investigates and compares the relationships between the effective application of the Malcolm Baldrige Health Care criteria for performance excellence and Magnet Designation for excellent quality in nursing care and outcomes from the Hospital Compare datasets. Both of these designations require a large commitment of financial and personal resources, and time. This study compares the hospital outcome scores of thirty-three health systems who have achieved either the Malcolm Baldrige or Magnet Designation Since the year 2009. Many categories of performance were explored including (1) process of care (2) patient experience and (3) outcome of care. Recipients of the Magnet award for nursing excellence scored higher in the areas of process of care and outcomes of care. Malcolm Baldrige recipients provided care equal to or better than those with Magnet designations while providing better patient experiences
