As patients and caregivers… We need to research our heart valve disease. We need to research our surgical options. We need to research surgeons. And, we need to research hospitals.

Why do we do this? Ultimately, I believe this research empowers us to make smart and confident choices that minimize our surgical risk.

On that note, I just read a fascinating report that suggests there is (i) a significant gap in quality among America’s hospitals, and (ii) a corresponding large difference in the rate of patient deaths.

Healthgrades said patients have a 52% percent lower risk of dying in a top-rated hospital than in United States hospitals in general. The study is based on an evaluation of hospital mortality related to 17 procedures and diagnoses at 5,000 non-federal U.S. hospitals. The study’s conclusions came after researchers examined 40 million Medicare hospitalization records from the years 2006, 2007 and 2008.

“The fact is, patients are twice as likely to die at low-rated hospitals than at highly rated hospitals for the same diagnoses and procedures,” Dr. Rick May, an author of the HealthGrades study, said in a statement. “With Washington focused on rewarding high-quality hospitals and empowering patients to make more informed healthcare choices, this information comes at a turning point in the healthcare debate.”

Other findings in the 12th annual “HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study” include:

• If all hospitals performed at the level of a five-star rated hospital across 17 procedures and diagnoses studied for mortality rates, 224,537 lives of Medicare patients could potentially have been saved from 2006 through 2008.
• About 57 percent (127,488) of the potentially preventable hospital deaths were associated with four diagnoses: sepsis (44,622); pneumonia (29,251); heart failure (26,374) and respiratory failure (27,241).
• Across all procedures studied, there was a 62% percent lower chance of experiencing one or more inhospital complications in a five-star rated hospital compared to the U.S. hospital average.

So you know…

When I conducted research, prior to my own aortic heart valve replacement, it was studies similar to this one that forced me to consider the best medical centers for cardiac care. For me, it was simple. I wanted a top surgeon. Often, as this study alludes, it is the top hospitals that attract the top surgeons.

Please, please, please conduct the proper diligence before you, or anybody you know, is rolled into an operating room for heart valve surgery.

Keep on tickin!

About The Author: [1] To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.