Pediatric Heart Experts Look for Ways to Make Data About Heart Surgery Public and Understandable for Families
St. Petersburg, FL (PRWEB) February 11, 2016 -- Pediatric cardiovascular surgeons, cardiologists and other health care providers and advocates will discuss how to improve care by making data on heart procedures public and easily understandable for families and patients with congenital and pediatric heart disease. The Summit on Transparency and Public Reporting of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Outcomes will bring hundreds of pediatric heart experts together from the nation’s top children’s hospitals to discuss approaches to transparency and public reporting in the field of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. During the summit, experts will discuss how to collect and access data on heart procedures performed on patients with congenital and pediatric heart disease.
Currently, there are no laws that require health care providers to report outcomes of pediatric heart surgeries. However, in an effort to improve quality and patient safety, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) encourages cardiothoracic surgeons to voluntarily report their success rates that are already documented in the STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database.
“Patients and their families have the right to know the expected outcomes of treatments they will receive. It is our professional responsibility to provide them with this information in a format that they can understand,” said Jeffrey Jacobs, M.D., chief of the division of cardiovascular surgery at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Heart Institute, professor of surgery and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and chair of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Workforce on National Databases. “It is time to collaborate to not only provide the best care for patients with congenital and pediatric heart disease, but also to help parents better understand the success rates associated with heart surgeries, so that they can make informed decisions about their child’s health care. We are always transparent with families when caring for their children, and we think all health care providers should be held to the same standards.”
If parents want to learn more about the success rates associated with pediatric heart surgery, they should speak in detail with their child’s doctor. It is important to ask questions about the specific name of the surgery, how often that particular doctor performs the procedure, the associated risks and typical rates of success.
Conference details:
• WHAT: Summit on Transparency and Public Reporting of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Outcomes
• WHERE: All Children’s Hospital Outpatient Care Center, 601 5th Street South St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
WHEN:
- February 16, 4:30-6:45 p.m.
- February 17, 7:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
To learn more about the outcomes of heart procedures performed at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Heart Institute, visit https://www.allkids.org/services/heart-institute/volume-outcomes
About All Children’s Hospital
All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine in St. Petersburg is the most advanced children’s hospital on Florida’s west coast and a U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospital. As a 259-bed teaching hospital, All Children’s provides compassionate and comprehensive care while training the next generation of pediatric experts and leading innovative research to cure and prevent childhood diseases. A network of 10 outpatient centers and All Children’s Specialty Physicians at regional affiliate hospitals provide care closer to home. Founded in 1926, All Children’s Hospital continues to expand its mission in treatment, research, education and advocacy to help children from Florida and around the world. For more information, visit http://www.allkids.org
Danielle Caci, All Children's Hospital, http://www.allkids.org, +1 727-767-2897, [email protected]
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