According to new research conducted by Cardiac Data Solutions, patients randomly choosing a hospital in one of the 10 best states had a 1 in 3 chance of picking a hospital with better than average performance for both CABG and PCI. On the other hand, patients in four of the 10 worst states had no chance of going to a hospital that was better than average for both procedures.
The research, which evaluated data on nearly 320,000 Medicare beneficiaries undergoing either CABG or PCI in more than 700 US hospitals from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010, was presented at American Heart Association Quality of Care and Outcomes Research 2012 Scientific Sessions.
Only two states, Massachusetts and Maryland, had all of their hospitals rank above average for both procedures. Hospitals in seven of the top 10 ranked states saved more lives performing PCI than CABG. In contrast, hospitals in six of the 10 worst performing states lost more lives performing PCI than CABG surgery. A total of four states (Hawaii, North Dakota, Nevada and Oklahoma) had all of their hospitals rank below average for both procedures.
Read full study: Statewide Hospital Performance on Total Lives-Saved during Coronary Revascularization among Medicare Beneficiaries in Fiscal Years 2010