El. Hannan et al., PUBLIC RELEASE OF CARDIAC-SURGERY OUTCOMES DATA IN NEW-YORK - WHAT DONEW-YORK-STATE CARDIOLOGISTS THINK OF IT, The American heart journal, 134(1), 1997, pp. 55-61
Background and Objective: Since 1990, risk-adjusted outcomes for patie
nts undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery in New York state
have been released to the public. The purpose of this study was to ass
ess the extent to which referring cardiologists share these data with
patients and use these data to make referrals. Methods: A survey quest
ionnaire was sent to all cardiologists in New York in the New York Sta
te Chapter of the American College of Cardiology. Results: Four hundre
d fifty cardiologists responded to the survey. Most (94%) found the re
port ''easy to read.'' A majority (67%) found the report to be ''very
accurate'' or ''somewhat accurate in capturing differences in the perf
ormance of cardiac surgeons, whereas 33% found it to be ''not at all a
ccurate.'' Twenty-two percent reported that they ''routinely discuss t
he reports with their patients,'' and 38% responded that the informati
on has affected their referrals to surgeons very much'' Or ''somewhat.
'' Conclusions: A majority of cardiologists has not generally changed
their well-established referral patterns as a result of the New York c
oronary artery bypass graft surgery reports. However, there has been a
modest impact on referrals resulting from he distribution of these re
ports. The findings also suggest that increased dialogue between clini
cians and policy makers regarding the format and structure of public r
eleases would be a valuable undertaking.