Sustaining Excellence in Cardiac Care: Cardiac Data Solutions, Inc. Studying Practices that Contribute to Excellence in Quality of Care

In an era of increased ranking of hospitals based on their quality of care, a new study by Cardiac Data Solutions has found that hospitals that excel at providing exceptional cardiac care for a year or two rarely sustain that edge over a consistent time frame. Researchers will ask hospitals that rank in the highest and lowest quartiles to complete an online survey survey to determine those factors that have the most impact on the quality of care. Cardiac Data Solutions plans to publish the results in time for the American Heart Association's 2008 Scientific Sessions to be held in New Orleans in November.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) April 10, 2008 -- In an era of increased ranking of hospitals based on their quality of care, a new study has found that hospitals that excel at providing exceptional cardiac care for a year or two rarely sustain that edge over a consistent time frame. The study was funded and conducted by Cardiac Data Solutions, Inc., in conjunction with leading physician researchers. The study was presented at the 57th annual American College of Cardiology Conference in Chicago.

Researchers found that just three of 710 hospitals nationally achieved exceptional outcomes, i.e., were ranked in the top tier, in lives saved and mortality rates for all three services: acute myocardial infarction, angioplasty and bypass surgery from 2003-2005. Another 43 hospitals achieved exceptional outcomes for two of the three years, but a similar number of hospitals wholly underachieved in two of the three years, researchers found. The hospitals were not identified in the research.

It's one thing to do something well for one year, but we found it's quite another for hospitals to maintain that level of consistency for an extended period of time across all three services

"It's one thing to do something well for one year, but we found it's quite another for hospitals to maintain that level of consistency for an extended period of time across all three services," says Aaron Kugelmass, M.D., director of Cardiac Catheterization at Henry Ford Hospital and lead author of the research.

April Simon, RN, MSN, a fellow researcher and founder and president of Cardiac Data Solutions, adds: "By examining the existing processes and structures, quality measures and other resources in place at our top heart hospitals, we hope to help other hospitals across the country enhance clinical outcomes for their patients."

Cardiac Data Solutions, Inc., working with Dr. Kugelmass and other researchers, has developed a comprehensive survey to identify the best practices in place at cardiac hospitals. Researchers will ask hospitals that rank in the highest and lowest quartiles to complete the online survey to determine those factors that have the most impact on the quality of care. Cardiac Data Solutions plans to publish the results in time for the American Heart Association's 2008 Scientific Sessions to be held in New Orleans next November.

Researchers embarked on their novel study knowing that little, if any, comprehensive data sets existed that indicated practice guidelines in place or objectively evaluated hospitals' performance in acute myocardial infarction, angioplasty and bypass surgery over consecutive years.

Among the highlights for the 46 top performing hospitals:

• The average risk-adjusted mortality rate per hospital declined significantly over the three years for acute myocardial infarction and bypass surgery.
• The average number of lives saved per hospital increased the first two years but fell the third year for acute myocardial infarction and bypass surgery. The decrease in lives saved in the third year was a result of an overall decrease in the volume of admissions
• The average lives saved in angioplasty over the three-year period was on average over +3.2 lives per year per hospital compared to all other hospitals, which averaged losing -0.16 lives per year per hospital.

Cardiac Data Solutions analyzed outcome data from all U.S. hospitals that treated at least 52 Medicare patients annually in acute myocardial infarction, angioplasty and bypass surgery from 2003-2005.
In addition to Dr. Kugelmass and Ms. Simon, researchers involved in the study included: Philip Brown, MD, cardiovascular surgeon (retired) and past chairman, Department of Surgery, Centennial Medical Center; David J. Cohen, MD,, interventional cardiologist and director, Cardiovascular Research, Mid America Heart Institute, St. Luke's Hospital; Matthew R. Reynolds, MD, electrophysiologist and director, Economics and Quality of Life Core Lab, Harvard Clinical Research Institute, and Steven D. Culler, PhD, associate professor, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University.

About Cardiac Data Solutions, Inc. (CDS)
Founded in 1999, Cardiac Data Solutions, Inc. (CDS) provides consultation services, data analysis, clinical benchmarks, management tools, research support services and leadership training to hospitals, physicians, payors, manufacturers and the financial community. CDS is focused solely on the cardiovascular market with the primary mission of supporting and improving clinical and business decisions to improve the quality of patient care. Using a proprietary data analysis tool with comprehensive and current data on clinical outcomes, CDS helps identify opportunities for improvement and develop evidence-based strategies to achieve them. For more information, visit www.cardiacdatasolutions.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: April Simon, RN, MSN, is available for interviews regarding this and other related research.

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