Consumer Reports magazine has ranked the cardiac programs at two Wellmont Health System hospitals among 50 top-rated heart bypass surgery programs nationwide.
Cardiovascular surgeons at Holston Valley Medical Center and Bristol Regional Medical Center are recognized in the national listing, which is published in the consumer magazine’s October issue. The ranking is based on comprehensive quality data compiled by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Consumer Reports is not beholden to any commercial interest and does not endorse any particular hospitals or practices.
Only three hospitals in Tennessee achieved the top ranking. In addition to Holston Valley and Bristol Regional, Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville is among the top 50.
The ranking is based on risk-adjusted data hospitals nationwide voluntarily released to the public. An article in the New England Journal of Medicine calls the public reporting by hospitals “a watershed event in healthcare accountability.”
More than 90 percent of the nation’s 1,100 cardiac surgery programs participate in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons registry, which contains data from patient charts and includes information on 11 rigorously validated measures including complications, mortality, surgical techniques and appropriate use of medications. However, only about 20 percent of the participating programs released the data to consumers.
The participating hospitals are listed online at http://www.consumerreports.org/health.
“The ratings include groups that have agreed to let us publish their results,” the Consumer Reports article states. “We will periodically update the ratings, including data from additional groups that release their information to us.
“If you’re considering a group that’s not yet rated, you should still ask for its results. That’s because many groups that have not shared their data with us have given their data to the STS – and should be willing to provide it to you. In fact, if a group can’t or won’t do that, you should keep looking.”
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is a not-for-profit organization that represents nearly 6,000 surgeons, researchers and allied health professionals across the globe. STS’ mission is to enhance the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality in patient care.
“Physicians have long recognized Society of Thoracic Surgeons data as an accurate, objective measure of clinical performance,” said Dr. Gerald Blackwell, president of Cardiovascular Associates, whose 36 board-certified physicians manage the cardiac programs at Wellmont hospitals. “With this ranking by Consumer Reports, patients now have access to the same information physicians have used and learned from for years.”
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