Top 50 cardiovascular hospitals have higher survival rates, lower readmission rates

Truven Health Analytics released its 18th annual top 50 cardiovascular hospitals study Nov. 7. The annual list is based on public data sources, including the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) file, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare dataset and Medicare cost reports.

For the first time, Truven assessed trends in cardiovascular care. From 2011 to 2015, readmission rates for acute MI improved 50.5 percent and readmission rates for heart failure improved 39.5 percent. However, more than 16 percent of hospitals had statistically significant increases in 30-day mortality rates for heart failure patients. In addition, 74.3 percent to 87.2 percent of hospitals had similar costs for treating acute MI, heart failure, CABG and PCI from 2011 to 2015.

The report also noted that there was a positive correlation between improvements in 30-day readmission rates and 30-day mortality rates for acute MI and CABG patients. However, there was a negative correlation between improvements in 30-day readmission rates and 30-day mortality rates for heart failure patients, meaning that 30-day mortality increased as 30-day readmissions decreased. Truven adjusted the results and classified hospitals into three groups: teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs, teaching hospitals without cardiovascular residency programs and community hospitals.

“Further research is needed to determine whether continuum-of-care issues, community characteristics, or sociodemographics—or all three—were factors behind this phenomenon,” the researchers wrote.

If all hospitals performed at the same level as the winning hospitals, the researchers estimated that more than 9,100 additional lives could be saved, an additional 6,100 heart patients could be complication-free and approximately $1.4 billion could be saved. Those numbers only pertain to Medicare patients, so the savings would be higher if all patients were included.

Compared with cardiovascular hospitals left off the list, the 50 winners had 35 percent to 55 percent higher inpatient survival, 20 percent to 22 percent fewer patients with complications, 0.5 to 1.1 percentage points higher 30-day survival rates for acute MI, heart failure and CABG and 0.5 to 1.2 percentage points lower readmission rates for acute MI, heart failure and CABG. In addition, the winning hospitals had $1,200 $6,100 less in total costs per patient case.

Approximately one-third of adults in the U.S. have cardiovascular disease, according to the researchers. They added that approximately 40 percent of U.S. adults are likely to have cardiovascular disease by 2030.

Earlier this year, IBM acquired Truven Health Analytics for $2.6 billion.

Here are the 50 top cardiovascular hospitals:

Teaching Hospitals with Cardiovascular Residency Programs|
* Aultman Hospital (Canton, Ohio)
* Baystate Medical Center (Springfield, Massachusetts)
* Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital (Roanoke, Virginia)
* Deborah Heart and Lung Center (Browns Mills, New Jersey)
* Duke University Hospital (Durham, North Carolina)
* Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit, Michigan)
* Lankenau Medical Center (Wynnewood, Pennsylvania)
* Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville, Florida)
* Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital (St. Louis Park, Minnesota)
* Riverside Medical Center (Kankakee, Illinois)
* Steward St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (Boston, Massachusetts)
* The Christ Hospital Health Network (Cincinnati, Ohio)
* The Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, New York)
* UMass Memorial Medical Center (Worcester, Massachusetts)
* University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics  (Madison, Wisconsin)

Teaching Hospitals without Cardiovascular Residency Programs
* Aspirus Wausau Hospital (Wausau, Hawaii)
* Banner Boswell Medical Center (Sun City, Arizona)
* Billings Clinic Hospital (Billings, Montana)
* Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital (Richmond, Virginia)
* Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage, California)
* Henry Ford Macomb Hospitals (Clinton Township, Michigan)
* Kootenai Health (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho)
* Memorial Hermann Hospital System (Houston, Texas)
* Memorial Regional Hospital (Hollywood, Florida)
* Mercy Hospital St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri)
* MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland (Midland, Michigan)
* Mission Hospital
 (Asheville, North Carolina)
* Morton Plant Hospital (Clearwater, Florida)
* North Shore Medical Center (Salem, Massachusetts)
* OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center (Rockford, Illinois)
* ProMedica Toledo Hospital (Toledo, Ohio)
* Saint Thomas West Hospital (Nashville, Tennessee)
* St. Luke's Boise Medical Center (Boise, Idaho)
* Sutter Medical Center (Sacramento, California)
* Utah Valley Hospital (Provo, Utah)

Community Hospitals
* Banner Heart Hospital (Mesa, Arizona)
* Bellin Hospital (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
* Cookeville Regional Medical Center (Cookeville, Tennessee)
* Hoag Hospital Newport Beach (Newport Beach, California)
* Longview Regional Medical Center (Longview, Texas)
* Mercy Hospital Jefferson (Festus, Missouri)
* NCH Healthcare System (Naples, Florida)
* Nebraska Heart Institute & Heart Hospital (Lincoln, Nebraska)
* Ochsner Medical Center (Baton Rouge, Florida)
* Oklahoma Heart Hospital (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
* Providence St. Patrick Hospital (Missoula, Montana)
* Sarasota Memorial Hospital (Sarasota, Florida)
* St. David’s Medical Center (Austin, Texas)
* St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana (Indianapolis, Indiana)
* University Hospitals Parma Medical Center (Parma, Ohio)

Tim Casey,

Executive Editor

Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.

Around the web

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

Philips introduced a new CT system at ECR aimed at the rapidly growing cardiac CT market, incorporating numerous AI features to optimize workflow and image quality.

Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup