MUSC Medical Center named as one of the top 100 cardiovascular hospitals

The MUSC Medical Center was the only hospital in South Carolina named as one of the top 100 cardiovascular hospitals in the nation by Solucient, a health care business intelligence source.

The study identified hospitals that have achieved excellence in care, efficiency of operations and sustainability of cardiovascular performance. Its aim is to provide benchmarks to improve the standard of care in cardiology, including specific procedures and conditions.

Publicly available data statistically adjusted for variations in care, illness levels and costs were used to track performance in key cardiology areas.
The Solucient 100 Top Hospitals Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success study found that if all hospitals achieved the success levels of the top performers, an additional 4,400 cardiovascular patients could survive each year and U.S. health care could save $880 million annually.

The study also found that top-performing facilities consistently outperform their peers, especially in terms of mortality and complications rates:

– Risk-adjusted mortality rates were an average of 26% lower for certain surgical procedures in top hospitals compared to non-winners.

– Post-operative infection rates were an average 18% lower in winning versus non-winning hospitals, while post procedural hemorrhage rates were 26% lower.

– In terms of efficiency, the average length of stay for cardiac patients would decrease by more than half a day-eliminating 402,000 patient days each year- if all hospitals achieved the best performance.

The survey winners were divided into peer groups and included 30 teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs, 40 teaching hospitals without cardiovascular residency programs and 30 community hospitals. The MUSC Medical Center competed in the category of teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs.

For more information, visit www.100tophospitals.com.