Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital were named today among the nation’s 100 top hospitals for cardiovascular care by Solucient. The study identifies hospitals that are setting benchmark levels of performance for cardiovascular services throughout the nation. It recognizes the hospitals and their management teams for superior clinical, operational and financial performance in the area of cardiovascular service. Rhode Island and The Miriam are the only hospitals in the state to be honored with this notable recognition.

The top 100 hospitals are identified from among more than 6,000 hospitals in the country based on data from Solucient’s hospital database and the publicly available Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) data set, representing more than 12 million patient discharges. The study focused on hospitals that treat a broad spectrum of cardiology patients, including those undergoing acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).

The top 100 hospitals were then listed in one of three hospital groups: teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs, teaching hospitals without cardiovascular residency programs and community hospitals. Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital are included in the first group and are among only 30 hospitals across the country in this category.

The annual Solucient award for cardiovascular services objectively measures performance on key criteria at the nation’s top performing acute-care hospitals. Facilities were scored in eight key performance areas: risk-adjusted medical mortality, risk-adjusted surgical mortality, risk-adjusted complications, core measures score, percentage of CABG patients with internal mammary artery use, procedure volume, severity-adjusted average length of stay, and wage- and severity-adjusted average cost.

Joseph Amaral, MD, president and CEO of Rhode Island Hospital, says, “We appreciate this recognition. It is a tribute to the dedication of our cardiac physicians and surgeons and all the medical staff who provide outstanding cardiovascular services to our patient.s The residents of our community can take comfort in knowing that with our volume and our expertise, we have been named among the best hospitals in the country for cardiac care.”

Kathleen Hittner, MD, president and CEO of The Miriam Hospital, comments, “As pioneers in Rhode Island in open heart surgery and cardiac catheterization, we have continuously worked to build teams of dedicated cardiac specialists with proven expertise well beyond the capabilities at most hospitals. This national level of distinction shows that The Miriam Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital truly are the leaders in cardiac care for the region.”

Key findings from the Solucient study indicate:

• If peer hospitals (non-winners) provided the same quality of cardiovascular care as the 100 Top Hospitals facilities, survival rates could increase by more than 8,000 patients each year and complications in care could be decreased in peer hospitals, with an additional 575 patients complication-free.

• The average 100 Top Hospitals Cardiovascular winner meets the recommended core measures standards for 95 percent of its heart attack (acute myocardial infarction or AMI) patients, compared with 93 percent at the average peer, or non-winning, hospital. Similar differences were seen for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. Core measures — a set of widely accepted minimum standards of care for all patients, based on scientific evidence — are used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and approved by the National Quality Forum.

• Both medical and surgical cardiovascular patients experience markedly higher survival rates at winning hospitals. For example, winning hospitals had 21 percent fewer deaths than expected for CABG patients while peer hospitals had only one percent fewer deaths than expected.

• Previous research has shown that procedure volume is a critical factor in outcomes for cardiovascular patients. Winning hospitals performed up to 80 percent more percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) than their peers, and about 50 percent more CABGs.

• Benchmark hospitals are proving more efficient in treating cardiovascular patients. The average 100 Top Hospitals Cardiovascular winner discharges patients half a day earlier and at an average cost that is about 13 percent less than its peers.

A complete list of the 100 top cardiovascular hospitals can be found at www.100tophospitals.com