CMS certification 220171
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington
41 & 45 Mall Road, Burlington, MA 01803
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. 72% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 26 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 8 and worse on none. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 46 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min).
Every figure on this page is published by CMS; we arrange and explain it, and score nothing ourselves.
What patients said
Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 2,376 completed surveys, 30% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
Emergency department
How long emergency patients spent here and how some time-critical care went, from CMS's timely and effective care measures, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025. CMS classes this emergency department's patient volume as very high; busier departments tend to have longer times, so the national median for departments of the same volume is shown too. These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
| Measure | This hospital | MA | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 371 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min | 3 h 46 min | 3 h 34 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 24 visits sampled | 7 h 4 min | 5 h 38 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 71,835 patients | 5% | 4% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 126 patients | 49% | 56% | 65% |
How Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington compares with nearby hospitals
The closest hospitals of the same kind that CMS rates or surveys - the same city first, then the same county and ZIP area. Every figure is CMS's: the overall star rating, the share of patients who would definitely recommend the hospital, the median time emergency patients spent before leaving, and how many death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS found better or worse than the national rate.
| Hospital | CMS stars | Would recommend | ER median time | Vs the nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, BurlingtonThis hospital | 4/5 | 72% | 3 h 46 min | 8 better |
| Lowell General HospitalSame county · Lowell | 2/5 | 66% | 4 h 27 min | 1 better 6 worse |
| Marlborough HospitalSame county · Marlborough | 2/5 | 60% | 3 h 46 min | 1 better 2 worse |
| Emerson HospitalSame county · W Concord | 5/5 | 76% | 3 h 28 min | 3 better |
| Winchester HospitalSame county · Winchester | 3/5 | 75% | 3 h 53 min | 1 better 4 worse |
| Metrowest Medical CenterSame county · Framingham | 1/5 | 42% | 3 h 25 min | 1 better 2 worse |
Hospitals differ in size and in how sick their patients are. CMS adjusts its outcome measures for that, but a star or a percentage is a starting point for questions, not a verdict.
Deaths
How many patients died within 30 days of admission, adjusted by CMS for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| All patients, hospital-wide 6,326 cases | Too few cases | 2.7% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 436 cases | Too few cases | 10.8% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 1,132 cases | Too few cases | 8.9% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 1,018 cases | Too few cases | 14.1% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 561 cases | Too few cases | 11.4% | 11.9% |
| COPD 198 cases | Too few cases | 7.1% | 8.6% |
| Heart bypass surgery (CABG) 197 cases | Too few cases | 2.4% | 2.4% |
Complications
How often patients had serious complications, most of them after surgery, adjusted for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2024.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious complications, combined measure | No different | 1.09 likely 0.89 – 1.29 | 1 |
| After hip or knee replacement 322 cases | Too few cases | 4.3% | 4.1% |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 309 cases | No different | 177.14 per 1,000 likely 147.42 per 1,000 – 206.86 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 13,632 cases | No different | 0.56 per 1,000 likely 0.15 per 1,000 – 0.98 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 16,750 cases | No different | 0.3 per 1,000 likely 0.14 per 1,000 – 0.45 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 17,310 cases | Worse | 0.45 per 1,000 likely 0.29 per 1,000 – 0.62 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 4,603 cases | No different | 3.3 per 1,000 likely 2.21 per 1,000 – 4.38 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 2,426 cases | No different | 1.35 per 1,000 likely 0.21 per 1,000 – 2.5 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 2,289 cases | No different | 8.14 per 1,000 likely 4.39 per 1,000 – 11.9 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 5,016 cases | No different | 3.57 per 1,000 likely 2.15 per 1,000 – 4.99 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 2,380 cases | Worse | 7.61 per 1,000 likely 5.29 per 1,000 – 9.94 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 1,264 cases | No different | 2.29 per 1,000 likely 1.06 per 1,000 – 3.53 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 3,453 cases | No different | 1.25 per 1,000 likely 0.52 per 1,000 – 1.98 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
Infections caught in the hospital
Standardized infection ratio: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one. Lower is better. Data from Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 0.67 likely 0.4 – 1.06 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | Better | 0.42 likely 0.23 – 0.7 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0.67 likely 0.34 – 1.2 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy | No different | 2.64 likely 0.67 – 7.18 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.62 likely 0.27 – 1.22 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.64 likely 0.48 – 0.84 | 1 |
Readmissions and return visits
How often patients had to come back to a hospital after going home. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2023 – Jun 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after a heart attack 539 cases | Too few cases | 14.5% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 1,296 cases | Too few cases | 21.6% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 1,091 cases | Too few cases | 17.1% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 244 cases | Too few cases | 18.5% | 20% |
| Readmitted after heart bypass surgery 156 cases | Too few cases | 10.4% | 11% |
| Readmitted after hip or knee replacement 301 cases | Too few cases | 4% | 5.8% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 537 cases | Too few cases | 12.1 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 1,315 cases | Too few cases | -7.7 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 1,041 cases | Too few cases | -0.3 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 6,706 cases | No different | 12.3 per 1,000 likely 10.3 per 1,000 – 14.7 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 228 cases | No different | 10.1 per 100 likely 7.4 per 100 – 13.6 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 228 cases | No different | 4.9 per 100 likely 3.3 per 100 – 7.2 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 2,373 cases | Better | 0.8 likely 0.7 – 1 | — |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
Money from drug and device companies
Drug and device makers have to report what they pay teaching hospitals to CMS's Open Payments program. At many teaching hospitals most of it is research funding, or royalties for inventions the hospital licensed to a company. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.
- 2019 $723,659
- 2020 $601,498
- 2021 $422,841
- 2022 $271,194
- 2023 $518,640
- 2024 $510,821
- 2025 $1.1M
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Grants | $235,972 | 19 |
| Space rental and facility fees | $218,750 | 29 |
| Debt forgiveness | $134,470 | 5 |
| Speaking, teaching and other services | $23,500 | 6 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $11,986 | 5 |
| Education | $2,500 | 1 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Transmedics, INC. | $188,675 | 9 |
| Stryker Corporation | $183,473 | 5 |
| Olympus Corporation of the Americas | $162,588 | 2 |
| Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation | $149,613 | 7 |
| Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. | $60,000 | 1 |
| TG Therapeutics, Inc. | $56,178 | 11 |
| Abbott Laboratories | $35,954 | 3 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | $25,750 | 1 |
Largest research studies funded here, 2025
| Study | Amount |
|---|---|
| OCS-LIVER-OLP-II TRANSMEDICS, INC. | $188,675 |
| A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Four-arm, Parallel-group, Dose-finding Phase 2b Study to Investigate the Safety and Effi… Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation | $98,331 |
| (ENABLE) REal world experieNce with BRIUMVI (ublituximAB-xiiy) treated patients: a Longitudinal rEgistry study TG Therapeutics, Inc. | $46,743 |
| ECLIPSE Abbott Laboratories · NCT03108456 | $31,454 |
| A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of Single and Multiple Ascending Doses… Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation | $29,154 |
| Observational Study of Liver Preservation Paragonix Technologies, Inc. | $19,400 |
| A Randomized, Open-label, Parallel-group, Non-inferiority Study Comparing Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Remibrutinib After Switching From Ocr… Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation | $16,679 |
| VITEK REVEAL EEP bioMerieux Inc | $15,181 |
Amounts are as the paying companies reported them to CMS; Open Payments data retrieved 13 Sep 2026. Full record on CMS Open Payments.
How to read this page
- Everything here is published by CMS on Care Compare. We arrange it and explain it; the star ratings and the better / worse verdicts are CMS's, not ours.
- “No different” is the most common result on most measures at most hospitals. CMS only calls a result better or worse when the difference from the national rate is statistically clear.
- Death, complication and readmission rates are adjusted by CMS for how sick patients were, so hospitals that treat sicker patients can be compared fairly.
- Infection results are ratios: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one, below 1.0 is fewer.
- These are hospital-wide results. They do not rate an individual doctor, nurse or department, and they are not medical advice.
CMS Care Compare data retrieved 4 Oct 2026, refreshed weekly. Where this data comes from and how we handle it · Report an error
Common questions about Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington
Is Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington a good hospital?
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington has a CMS overall rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Of the 26 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 8 and worse on none. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington?
72% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 2,376 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 46 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with very high patient volume, like this one, the median is 3 h 21 min. 5% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $1.1M in payments to Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.