Published online before print July 31, 2006, doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.105.600973
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Circulation. 2006;114:558-564.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.
Health Services and Outcomes Research |
Performance of Top-Ranked Heart Care Hospitals on Evidence-Based Process Measures
From the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
Correspondence to Scott C. Williams, Division of Research, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 1 Renaissance Blvd, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. E-mail swilliams{at}jcaho.org
Received November 10, 2005; revision received April 21, 2006; accepted April 28, 2006.
Background— Despite the increasing availability of evidence-based clinical performance measure data that compares the performances of US hospitals, the general public continues to rely on more popular resources such as the US News & World Report annual publication of "America’s Best Hospitals" for information on hospital quality. This study evaluated how well hospitals ranked on the US News & World Report list of top heart and heart surgery hospitals performed on acute myocardial infarction and heart failure measures derived from American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association clinical treatment guidelines.
Methods and Results— This study identified 774 hospitals, including 41 of the US News & World Report top 50 heart and heart surgery hospitals. To compare hospitals, 10 rate-based performance measures (6 addressing processes of acute myocardial infarction care and 4 addressing heart failure care), were aggregated into a cardiovascular composite measure. As a group, the US News & World Report hospitals performed statistically better than their peers (mean, 86% versus 83%; P<0.05). Individually, however, only 23 of the US News & World Report hospitals achieved statistically better-than-average performance compared with the population average, whereas 9 performed significantly worse (P<0.05). One hundred sixty-seven hospitals in this study routinely implemented evidenced-based heart care 
90% of the time.
Conclusions— A number of the US News & World Report top hospitals fell short in regularly applying evidenced-based care for their heart patients. At the same time, many lesser known hospitals routinely provided cardiovascular care that was consistent with nationally established guidelines.
CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE
Related Article:
-
Issue Highlights
Circulation 2006 114: 529.[Extract] [Full Text]
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  M. D. Howell A 37-Year-Old Man Trying to Choose a High-Quality Hospital: Review of Hospital Quality Indicators JAMA, December 2, 2009; 302(21): 2353 - 2360. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. K. Mulvey, Y. Wang, Z. Lin, O. J. Wang, J. Chen, P. S. Keenan, E. E. Drye, S. S. Rathore, S.-L. T. Normand, and H. M. Krumholz Mortality and Readmission for Patients With Heart Failure Among U.S. News & World Report's Top Heart Hospitals Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes, November 1, 2009; 2(6): 558 - 565. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. M. Zahn, W. E. Hellenbrand, J. E. Lock, and D. B. McElhinney Implantation of the melody transcatheter pulmonary valve in patients with a dysfunctional right ventricular outflow tract conduit early results from the u.s. Clinical trial. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., October 27, 2009; 54(18): 1722 - 1729. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. Popescu, R. M. Werner, M. S. Vaughan-Sarrazin, and P. Cram Characteristics and Outcomes of America's Lowest-Performing Hospitals: An Analysis of Acute Myocardial Infarction Hospital Care in the United States Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes, May 1, 2009; 2(3): 221 - 227. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. R. Lewis, E. D. Peterson, C. P. Cannon, D. M. Super, K. A. LaBresh, K. Quealy, L. Liang, and G. C. Fonarow An Organized Approach to Improvement in Guideline Adherence for Acute Myocardial Infarction: Results With the Get With The Guidelines Quality Improvement Program Arch Intern Med, September 8, 2008; 168(16): 1813 - 1819. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. C. Williams, R. G. Koss, D. J. Morton, S. P. Schmaltz, and J. M. Loeb Case volume and hospital compliance with evidence-based processes of care Int. J. Qual. Health Care, April 1, 2008; 20(2): 79 - 87. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. L. Anderson, C. D. Adams, E. M. Antman, C. R. Bridges, R. M. Califf, D. E. Casey Jr, W. E. Chavey II, F. M. Fesmire, J. S. Hochman, T. N. Levin, et al. ACC/AHA 2007 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Unstable Angina/Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 2002 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Unstable Angina/Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) Developed in Collaboration with the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Endorsed by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., August 14, 2007; 50(7): e1 - e157. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. M. O'Brien and E. D. Peterson Identifying High-Quality Hospitals: Consult the Ratings or Flip a Coin? Arch Intern Med, July 9, 2007; 167(13): 1342 - 1344. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|