El Camino Hospital Rated Best in California for Overall Cardiac Services

In the largest study of its kind by the nation’s leading independent ratings company–analyzing patient outcomes at virtually all of the nation’s 5000 non-government hospitals over the years 2004, 2005, and 2006, El Camino Hospital has been ranked best in California for overall cardiac services, and placed in the top five percent of all hospitals nationally–the only San Jose-area hospital to do so in the “2008″ HealthGrade rankings (the current year.)

The Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study issued today also ranked El Camino Hospital in the top five percent nationally for coronary interventional procedures including angioplasties and stents, in the top 10 percent nationally for overall pulmonary services and for treatment of stroke, and gave it the highest rating (five stars) for clinical areas including bypass surgery, coronary interventional procedures, treatment of heart attack, heart failure and atrial fibrillation, treatment of sepsis (severe blood infection) treatment of bowel obstruction, back and neck surgery with spinal fusion, treatment of pneumonia, treatment of stroke, and carotid surgery.

“There are many ways to measure the quality of hospitals and health care providers,” said El Camino Hospital Chief Executive Officer Ken Graham. “What makes HealthGrades different is that it focuses on patient outcomes. Because the data strongly correlates with a dramatically reduced risk of mortality for patients, we think most people will want to consider it.”

HealthGrades statistics show that patients at the nation’s top-performing hospitals have, on average, a 71 percent lower chance of dying than those treated at one-star hospitals across 18 procedures and conditions analyzed.

The study identifies key trends in the quality of care provided by the approximately 5,000 non-government hospitals from which it obtained and analyzed Medicare discharge data between 2004 and 2006. Risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates were calculated and hospitals were assigned a one-star (poor), three-star (as expected), or five-star (best) quality rating for 28 diagnoses and procedures from heart failure to hip replacement to pneumonia.

The gap in outcomes was still significant when “best” hospitals were compared to the U.S. hospital average; patients in five-star rated hospitals had an approximate 52 percent lower chance of dying across all procedures and conditions studied.

The number one ranking for cardiac care reflects El Camino Hospital’s determined focus on becoming the preeminent West Coast provider for innovative, highest quality clinical care and service to cardiothoracic, vascular and stroke patients.

The hospital already is the site of pioneering advances in interventional cardiology, such as cryoplasty and percutaneous bypass, both used to treat severe vascular blockage that frequently results in limb amputation, as well as carotid stenting. The hospital currently participates in several national clinical device trials, and recently announced a partnership with world-renowned vascular surgeon and inventor Thomas Fogarty to form the Fogarty Institute of Innovation. Additionally, its just-launched Heart and Vascular Institute will aggregate the hospital’s present and future cardiovascular programs into a regional center of excellence in cardiac care, according to Graham.

“There’s a growing interest in hospital quality data,” Graham said, “and an increasing number of rating systems to measure performance. Some are based on procedural adherence, some on the ratio of board-certified and trained physicians, and others on the type of equipment available. Insurance companies even rate hospitals. But what matters most in the end? We believe HealthGrades ratings will be looked at closely by informed consumers.”

The 2008 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available, free of charge, on the organization’s award-winning consumer Web site, located at www.healthgrades.com.

To learn more about El Camino Hospital and its services, visit the web site at www.elcaminohospital.org.