Fast Facts:
Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success — 2004

WHAT IS IT?

The 2004 Solucient 100 Top Hospitals®: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success study identifies industry benchmarks by recognizing U.S. heart hospitals that demonstrate superior performance. For details, click here.

WHO CONDUCTED THE STUDY?

This study is presented by Solucient, an Evanston, IL-based information company serving the healthcare industry. It is the market leader in providing tools and vital insights that healthcare managers use to improve the performance of their organizations. By integrating, standardizing and enhancing healthcare information, Solucient provides comparative measurements of cost, quality and market performance. Solucient's expertise and proven solutions enable providers, payers and pharmaceutical companies to drive business growth, manage costs and deliver high quality care. For details, click here.

WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?

The study was released on Oct. 25, 2004.

WHICH HOSPITALS WON?

For a complete list of winners, click here.

HOW WERE THE WINNERS CHOSEN?

We assigned each hospital in the study group to one of three comparison groups. We analyzed each hospital's performance in seven areas using year 2002 Medicare cost reports and years 2002 and 2003 MedPAR data. Within the comparison groups, we ranked hospitals on the basis of their performance on each of the seven areas relative to other hospitals in their group. We then summed each hospital's performance-measure ranking to arrive at a total ranking for the hospital. The hospitals with the best total ranking in each comparison group were selected as the benchmarks.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE KEY FINDINGS?

• Although they are sicker than ever before, more coronary bypass patients across the nation are surviving surgery, and at higher than anticipated rates. The Solucient 100 Top Hospitals® Cardiovascular award winners are leading the nation in this new trend.

• The results showed a significant increase in the severity of co-morbidities and complications, which translated into a higher "expected" death rate of five more patients per 1000 by 2003. However, contrary to this expected rise in CABG mortality, the study shows the reverse: a significant decrease in the actual death rate of five patients per 1000 by 2003.

• If cardiovascular services in all acute-care hospitals performed at the same level as the hospitals with the nation's top cardiovascular services, 4,200 additional cardiovascular patients could survive each year; and an additional 1,600 patients could be complication-free.

• Winning hospitals are 35 percent less likely than non-winners to have post-operative infections and 20 percent less likely than non-winners to have post-operative hemorrhage for patients undergoing CABG or percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).

• Winning hospitals annually perform twice as many bypass surgeries and PCIs, including angioplasties, as their peers.

• Cardiovascular patients at winning hospitals return to everyday life faster than those at non-winning hospitals. Patients at the winning hospitals were released more than a half-day earlier than patients at peer hospitals.

• Average cardiovascular-related costs for benchmark hospitals were nearly 13 percent lower than at peer hospitals.

CAN I GET A COPY OF THE COMPLETE STUDY?

Yes. Members of the media can receive exclusive copies of the study simply by clicking here.

WHAT WAS THE BREAKDOWN OF WINNERS BY CLASS?

The sixth edition of the Solucient 100 Top Hospitals®: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success study analyzed acute care hospitals nationwide in three classes with the following number of winners in each:

• Teaching with Cardiovascular Residency Programs - 30 winners
• Teaching without Cardiovascular Residency Programs - 40 winners
• Community - 30 winners

WHO DO I CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION?

All media inquiries should be made to Ginny Sexton at Solucient, (847)424-4358; gsexton@solucient.com.

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