Surgical Outcomes and Evidence-based Hospital Referrals
This measure is based on the concept that the best hospital for a patient to go to for a specific procedure is one that:
- Does a high enough volume of that type of surgery
- Uses clinical processes that have been shown to have better results
- Achieves better outcomes
The procedures evaluated in this measure are coronary artery bypass graft surgery, percutaneous coronary intervention, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair and high-risk deliveries of babies.
Cedars-Sinai's performance on this set of quality measures are summarized below:
| High Risk Procedures | Volume | Leapfrog Standard |
| Aortic Valve Replacement - Surgery to replace a diseased or abnormal aortic valve. | 189 | 120 |
| Coronary Artery Bypass Graft - Surgery that improves blood flow into the heart muscle by adding a new artery for blood to "bypass" clogged arteries. | 256* | 450 |
| Percutaneous Coronary Intervention - Any intervention that improves blood flow into the heart by reopening a clogged artery such as coronary angioplasties and stents. | 2,362 | 400 |
| Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm - Surgery to repair a weakened main artery to the bottom half of the body before it bursts and causes death. | 45 | 50 |
| Bariatric Surgery - Surgery on the stomach or intestines (or both) to help a person with extreme obesity lose weight. | 522 | 100 |
| Esophagectomy - Surgery to remove cancer from the esophagus | 19 | 13 |
| Pancreatic Resection - Surgery to remove cancer from the pancreas | 33 | 11 |
| High Risk Deliveries & Neonatal Intensive Care - Births in which infants were 1) predicted to weigh less than 3.3 pounds, 2) are born before the 32nd week of pregnancy or 3) have correctable major defects are considered to be high-risk deliveries. Such infants usually have a better chance of survival if they are treated in a hospital with Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where an average of at least 15 such infants are cared for per day. | 37 | 15 |
* Cedars-Sinai, as do most California hospitals, is using less invasive procedures to improve blood flow to the heart muscle than coronary artery bypass surgery. Consequently, Cedars-Sinai's volume for this procedure is declining while its volume for minimally invasive procedures such as percutaneous coronary intervention is rising.
