The listing, which could indirectly affect hospitals where the groups are on staff, is a “watershed event in healthcare accountability,” wrote the New England Journal of Medicine. It added that the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, which provided the data from previously unpublicized data, “has responded to the public in a way that attempts to both inform patients and mitigate physicians’ fears.”
The data on risk-adjusted outcomes for coronary-artery bypass grafting is taken from the thoracic society’s registry of about 1,000 cardiac surgery groups, relying on voluntary reporting from about 90 percent of all such groups. Of groups on the society’s registry, 221 groups agreed to make their information public on the Consumer Reports site, where it is available only to subscribers.
Heart surgery groups on the site receive a one, two, or three-star rating, based on 11 performance measures endorsed by the National Quality Forum. Fifty groups received three stars, 166 two stars, and five one star. The results will be updated periodically.
In addition to rating for overall performance, the listing also shows performance in four subcategories: 30-day survival, complications, use of appropriate medications and surgical technique.
Read the Consumer Reports report on reporting bypasses.
Read the New England Journal report on reporting bypasses.
Read more on quality reporting:
-Hospitals Can Now Preview Medicare Quality Data
-California Medical Association Sues Insurer Over Online Physician Ratings
-Hospitals Showing Progress in Reporting Infection Data on National Network
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