� Bariatric surgery patients treated at highly rated hospitals have, on average, a 65 percent lour chance of experiencing serious complications compared to patients who undergo surgery at poorly rated hospitals according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the nations preeminent independent healthcare ratings organization. As share of the study, the quality ratings of hospitals performing bariatric surgery in 17 states became uncommitted today at www.healthgrades.com.
HealthGrades' third annual Bariatric Surgery Trends in American Hospitals study, which evaluated bariatric surgical outcomes at every hospital that performed them in 17 states, also found that the complicatedness rate for these surgeries continues to rise, increasing six percent from 2004 to 2006. One possible reason: depress volume facilities have higher complication rates.
Bariatric surgery is a general condition describing several types of weight loss procedures. HealthGrades study analyzed the outcomes of the most mutual, including traditional open surgical gastric ringway procedures as well as newer, less invasive procedures such as, "lap-banding" and laparoscopic stomachal bypass.
Complications associated with gastric bypass surgery accounted for the highest rise in complications, increasing 17 percent. Comparatively, complications from less trespassing laparoscopic surgical process increased by just more than one percent. Complications associated with bariatric surgical procedure include heart attack, kidney failure, stroke and post-surgical infections.
The HealthGrades study found a significant shift toward laparoscopic bariatric procedures. From 2004 through 2006, open stomachic bypass procedures declined by 81.82 percent while during the same time period laparoscopic procedures increased 418.86 percent.
Meanwhile, the sum up volume of bariatric surgical procedures in the U.S. continues to grow speedily. The American Society for Bariatric Surgery estimates that such surgeries have increased 1,431 percent in the net decade to more than 250,000 annually.
"The tremendous pas seul we ar seeing in quality among bariatric operating theatre providers underscores the grandness of pronto available timbre data to help consumers make a truly informed decision most where to seek care," said Rick May, MD, a senior physician adviser with HealthGrades and an author of the study.
Additionally, the third annual HealthGrades Bariatric Surgery Trends in American Hospitals study found that:
- A typical patient having a bariatric surgical procedure at a five-star rated hospital in one of the 17 states studied has on average, a 65 percent lour chance of experiencing matchless or more inhospital complications than at a one-star rated hospital and a 41 percentage lower chance than at a three-star rated infirmary during 2004- 2006.
- Five-star (top rated) hospitals performed nigh twice the volume of procedures compared to 1-star and 3-star facilities - an medium of 526 procedures from 2004 through 2006 compared with 266 and 283 respectively.
- Higher intensity was associated with fewer risk-adjusted complications. Facilities with an yearbook case book of 125 procedures had the last-place risk-adjusted complications. Facilities playing less than 25 cases per year had the highest pace of risk-adjusted complications.
- If all patients had received their bariatric surgical process procedure at 5-star hospitals (from 2004 through 2006), 5,one hundred twenty-five inhospital complications could have been potentially avoided in the 17 states studied.
HealthGrades Bariatric Surgery Ratings
HealthGrades' quality ratings for bariatric surgical procedure at item-by-item hospitals in 17 states were posted today to www.healthgrades.com as a free resource for consumers. Each hospital receives a lead rating based on their patient outcomes for bariatric surgery. Hospitals with above-average outcomes receive a five-star rating. Hospitals with fair outcomes receive a three-star rating, and hospitals with outcomes that are below average receive a one-star rating.
The study included a come of 154,451 bariatric inpatient operation procedures performed in 680 hospitals in 17 states from 2004 through 2006. The majority of procedures were performed in four states: New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and California.
- 93 hospitals stand out as "best" performers (5-star rated)
- 263 hospitals were rated as "as expected" performers (3-star rated)
- 99 hospitals were rated as "poor" performers (1-star rated)
Individuals contemplating bariatric surgical operation will discover both lineament and cost information at http://www.healthgrades.com. In addition to the free hospital-quality ratings, Web site visitors can as well research surgeons who perform bariatric surgery as well as medical-cost reports that detail all of the costs, including out-of-pocket expenses, for the procedure.
Methodology
For this study, HealthGrades analyzed 154,451 bariatric procedures performed in the years 2004, 2005 and 2006. The states included in the study ar: Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
To produce accurate and valid comparisons of clinical outcomes at different hospitals with different patient characteristics, HealthGrades risk adjusted the data victimisation multivariate logistic regression to account for age, grammatical gender and underlying medical conditions that could increase the patient's jeopardy of deathrate or complication. The full study and individual hospital ratings for bariatric operating room and other procedures tin can be institute at hTTP://www.healthgrades.com.
About HealthGrades
Health Grades, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGRD) is the leading healthcare ratings arrangement, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians. Millions of consumers and many of the nation's largest employers, health plans and hospitals rely on HealthGrades' sovereign ratings, advisory services and decision-support resources to make healthcare decisions based on the quality and cost of upkeep.
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