Patients Can Safely Get Angioplasty at Hospitals Without Surgeons on Site, Cardiologists Say

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Two-thirds of cardiologists surveyed by U.S. News & World Report and theheart.org say hospitals should be allowed to treat heart patients using angioplasty even if no heart surgeon is on hand to perform emergency heart surgery if needed. Almost half of U.S. states currently forbid angioplasty at hospitals without so-called "surgical backup."

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Today's survey is the result of a first-ever reporting collaboration between U.S. News, which invited input from about 600 cardiologists recognized as Top Doctors by U.S. News and by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., and theheart.org, a leading online news source of cardiology news, which surveyed cardiologists who subscribe to its news service.

"Nearly 70 percent of doctors responding to our survey felt the time has come to allow hospitals that lack surgical backup to perform angioplasty, provided they meet certain important criteria," said Steve Sternberg, U.S. News Deputy Health Rankings Editor, who wrote today's report on the survey results for U.S. News. "At the same time, the overwhelming majority of the doctors felt that hospitals' angioplasty performance should be tracked and publicly reported, and that hospitals with poor results should be required to improve or face loss of the privilege to perform angioplasty."

"The performance of elective angioplasty at hospitals with no cardiac surgery backup on site has long been a hot-button topic among physicians who specialize in the treatment of coronary disease. These survey results suggest that while cardiologists are warming up to the idea of expanding the number of these kinds of facilities, many of them admit that they themselves would opt to be treated somewhere with a surgeon on standby," said Shelley Wood, Managing Editor of theheart.org.

"While the question of which hospitals should offer angioplasty remains controversial, doctors' opinions on the issue can help guide patients to better decisions," said  Dr. John Connolly, President and CEO of Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., publisher of America's Top Doctors® and other Top Doctors and consumer health guides. The U.S. News Top Doctors directory draws from Castle Connolly's database of Top Doctors, all recommended for their clinical skills by other doctors and individually vetted by Castle Connolly's physician-led research team.

Other key findings from today's survey of cardiologists:

• In contrast to the majority of survey respondents, one-third of the doctors responded that they do not believe that angioplasty can be performed safely in hospitals without on-site surgical backup. Of these, 66% say they're worried about patients' well-being; 59% say they're concerned that doctors will refer patients for inappropriate procedures in order to sustain the hospital's volume of cases.
• Nearly 96% of respondents endorsed monitoring and public reporting of outcomes for all hospitals that perform angioplasty.
• More than 95% of respondents said hospitals with consistently bad results should be barred from performing angioplasty.

The U.S. News story: Cardiologists Say Patients Can Safely Get Angioplasty Without Surgeons on Site

Companion story by theheart.org: Survey says: Most cardiologists support elective PCA sans on-site CABG ... with caveats

About the U.S. News Media Group.  The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money, Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group's signature franchise includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its "Best" series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual funds, health plans, and more.

SOURCE U.S. News Media Group