See the List: RI Hospitals and Surgeons with Highest Complication Rates

Friday, July 17, 2015

GoLocalProv News Team

In the recently releasted study MAKING THE CUT: Why choosing the right surgeon matters even more than you know, ProPublica looked at eight procedures done in Rhode Island hospitals (both lumbar spinal fusions, knee replacement, hip replacement, cervical spinal fusion, gallbladder removal, prostate removal and prostate resection) between 2009 and 2013.

SEE SLIDES BELOW: RI Hospitals and Surgeons with Highest Complication Rates

Marshal Allen and Olga Pierce of ProPublica wrote of the national trends, “As would be expected, overall complication rates were relatively low, ranging from 2 percent to 4 percent, depending on the type of surgery. But experts who reviewed ProPublica’s results say they strongly suggest that the typical surgeon’s rate can and should be significantly lower. The evidence: Some 756 surgeons who each did at least 50 operations did not record a single complication in the five years covered by the analysis. Another 1,423 had only one.”

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The hospitals that participated in at least one procedure in Rhode Island included

See slides below to see what procedures resulted in complications at these hospitals

Related Slideshow: RI Hospitals, Surgeons with Highest Complication Rates During Routine Medicare Procedures

ProPublica used Medicare data from 2009-2013 to identify cases where a patient died in the hospital or had to be readmitted within 30 days for a problem related to one of the procedures below. ProPublica calculated complication rates for surgeons, and accounted for differences in patient health, age and hospital quality. These rates are calculated using data from Medicare records, which do not include patients with private insurance or in another program like Medicaid. (Note: Some surgeons are listed more than once. A surgeon’s rate spans all hospitals at which he or she operates and is not unique to a given hospital).

The adjusted complication rate is measured by "the rate of complications, adjusting for several variables, including performance of the hospital and the health and age of surgeon's patients."

Definitions (Source: Pro Publica):

Knee replacement - Replace diseased knee joint with an artificial knee.

Hip replacement - Replace diseased hip joint with an artificial hip joint.

Lumbar Spinal Fusion, Posterior Technique - The fusing of two or more vertebrae in the lower back, performed on the back portion of the spine.

Lumbar Spinal Fusion, Anterior Techique - The fusing of two or more vertebrae in the lower back, performed on the front portion of the spine.

Gallbladder Removal, Laparoscopic - Minimally invasive gallbladder removal. This is performed most commonly when gallstones are blocking the flow of bile.

Prostate Removal - The removal of the entire prostate gland via the open or laparoscopic or robotic method. Usually performed to treat prostate cancer.

Prostate Resection - The resection and removal of a portion of the prostate through the urethra. This is most commonly done because of an enlarged prostate that may be restricting the flow of urine.