STS RATES HEART INSTITUTE OF DOYLESTOWN HOSPITAL AMONG TOP 10% IN NATION
10/14/2008
The Heart Institute of Doylestown Hospital recently earned the newest and highest quality designation available from an international association of heart surgeons.
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) gave The Heart Institute its highest rating – three stars – and places it among the top 10% in the U.S. for heart surgery.
The recognition is especially noteworthy since it is determined by an in-depth analysis of clinical measures conducted by surgeons, according to Joseph S. Auteri, MD, medical director of The Heart Institute.
“In a sense, a jury of my peers has made the determination of high clinical quality here at Doylestown Hospital, even when compared to the more well-known institutions nationwide,” Dr. Auteri said.
The STS honor “is a significant and very rewarding distinction, and a reflection of the emphasis on quality that defines Doylestown Hospital to the community,” according to Dr. Auteri.
The STS is a not-for-profit organization representing more than 5,400 surgeons, researchers and allied health professionals worldwide who are dedicated to ensuring the best possible care for patients considering surgical procedures of the chest. It was founded in 1964.
“The STS composite quality measure for cardiac surgery is unique and more relevant than other methodologies because it is based on clinical information rather than the rudimentary billing data most often used today,” according to the STS.
The hospital’s three-star rating “represents a hospital performance that is, with 99% certainty, significantly higher than the STS mean performance, ranking Doylestown Hospital’s cardiac surgery program among the top 10% of all programs in the country,” the STS said.
The new quality score is based upon 11 individual components within four categories of care. Each component was reviewed and endorsed by the National Quality Forum, which also plays a leading role in endorsing other healthcare performance measures, such as those used by Medicare and The Joint Commission.
Last year, the Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study awarded Doylestown Hospital the top five-star rating for valve replacement surgery, coronary interventional procedures including angioplasties and stents, and treatment of heart attack and heart failure, placing it among the top 10 in Pennsylvania for cardiology services. Doylestown is one of only three Philadelphia-area hospitals, and the only Bucks County hospital, to be included in the top 10. The HealthGrades study, the largest of its kind, analyzed patient outcomes at virtually all of the nation's 5,000 hospitals over the years 2004, 2005 and 2006.
