NEW ORLEANS — Tulane Medical Center has been named a 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospital by IBM Watson Health™ in its annual study identifying top U.S. hospitals for inpatient cardiovascular services. The announcement was made in a press release.
When compared with other U.S. hospitals providing cardiovascular care that were included in the study, the Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals consistently outperformed on clinical outcomes, efficiency and 30-day readmissions, providing higher quality at a lower cost, according to the study.
Tulane Medical Center joins Mayo Clinic Hospital and Duke Regional Hospital among 15 facilities with cardiovascular residency programs named in the study, and it is the only hospital in Louisiana to be named in the top 50.
“Our staff and physicians work diligently every day to deliver measurably excellent quality care,” said Dr. William Lunn, Tulane Health System’s president and CEO. “To see and be recognized for results like this only inspires us to work harder to sustain and build upon this success. I’m thrilled for our team to be recognized, and I’m proud that we can offer this level of care to the communities we serve.”
Some of the key performance benchmarks set by this year's Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals include:
- Higher Inpatient Survival Rates: Winning hospitals had significantly higher inpatient survival rates (27.7 to 46.8 percent higher).
- Fewer Complications: The 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals achieved 16.1 to 24.2 percent fewer patient complications.
- Shorter Length of Stay: Average length-stay for coronary artery bypass graft patients was nearly one day lower (0.8) and 0.4 days lower for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and percutaneous coronary intervention in winning hospitals.
- Lower Cost: Winning hospitals delivered care for an average of $7,812 less per bypass surgery and $1,635 to $3,582 less for other inpatient stays.
- Lower Readmission Rates: Readmission rates were 0.6 percentage points lower in winning hospitals than non-winning hospitals.
“Cardiovascular disease is among the most widespread and costliest diseases in the U.S., with an annual price tag of roughly $317 billion. That's why it is so critical that hospitals find new and innovative ways to deliver better care at a lower cost," said Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals® program leader at IBM Watson Health. "The winning hospitals in our study have established the new benchmark for cardiac care performance by driving consistently better outcomes at a lower cost per case than non-winning hospitals."
To determine the 50 top U.S. hospitals for heart care, IBM Watson Health researchers analyzed 2016 and 2017 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review data, 2017 Medicare cost reports and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare published in the second quarter of 2018. Hospitals were scored in key value-based performance areas: risk-adjusted mortality, risk-adjusted complications, percentage of coronary bypass patients with internal mammary artery use, 30-day mortality rates, 30-day readmission rates, severity-adjusted average length of stay, wage- and severity-adjusted average cost per case and, new this year, CMS 30-day episode payment measures.
Tulane Medical Center was also recently recognized as a 2018-19 High-Performing Hospital by U.S. News & World Report for its treatment of two of the region’s most serious health concerns – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure.
Tulane has also been recently honored for other aspects of its cardiovascular program, as it was named an Aetna Institute of Quality for its cardiac rhythm program, earned a 5-Star rating for heart attack treatment outcomes from Healthgrades and was named a Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus winner by the American Heart Association for three years in a row.
