The study found that the average RAMR among Medicare beneficiaries in 2003and 2004 ranged from 1.4 percent among the highest performing hospitals, orthose in Tier 1, to 6.4 percent in the fourth or lowest ranking tier. As notedin the Archives of Internal Medicine, "The relative risk of mortality forundergoing CABG surgery in a bottom tier hospital was 4.4 times that of atop-tier hospital," and "75% of the observed deaths of either male or femaleMedicare beneficiaries treated in a tier 4 hospital could be avoided if tier 4hospitals could improve their performance to the average performance of toptier hospitals."

The gender differential against women, meanwhile, increased from .68percent in Tier 1 to 2.67 percent in Tier 4. According to researchers, theincrease in the gender difference in risk-adjusted mortality from Tier 1 toall other tiers is statistically significant.

"With CABG surgery being performed on an elective basis more often and ata growing number of hospitals, there is increasing interest and debateregarding performance ratings," said one of the authors, April Simon, RN, MSN,and president of Cardiac Data Solutions. "While we still need to understandthe factors contributing to performance among hospitals and various patientpopulations, this study reinforces that CABG patients, especially women, wouldbenefit from performance ratings based on lives saved and being treated at topperforming hospitals."

The article also noted that the difference in relative mortality ratesbetween the highest and lowest performing hospitals is greater than thereduction in mortality rates seen over the past ten years as the result ofclinical advances in CABG surgery.

Hospital administrators and chief medical officers interested in how theirhospitals ranked are invited to send their name, title and facility name tocdsinfo@cardiacdatasolutions.com.

The lead researchers for the study were Steven D. Culler, PhD, associateprofessor, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, and April W.Simon, MSN, president, Cardiac Data Solutions. Other researchers included:Phillip Brown, MD, cardiovascular surgeon (retired) and past chairman,Department of Surgery, Centennial Medical Center; Aaron Kugelmass, M.D.,director of Cardiac Catheterization at Henry Ford Hospital; Matthew R.Reynolds, MD, electrophysiologist and director, Economics and Quality of LifeCore Lab, Harvard Clinical Research Institute; and Kimberly J Rask, MD, PhD,research associate professor and director, Emory Center on Health Outcomes andQuality, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University.

About Cardiac Data Solutions, Inc. (CDS)

Founded in 1999, Cardiac Data Solutions, Inc. (CDS) provides consultationservices, data analysis, clinical benchmarks, management tools, researchsupport services and leadership training to hospitals, physicians, payors,manufacturers and the financial community. CDS is focused solely on thecardiovascular market with the primary mission of supporting and improvingclinical and business decisions to improve the quality of patient care. Usinga proprietary data analysis tool with comprehensive and current data onclinical outcomes, CDS helps identify opportunities for improvement anddevelop evidence-based strategies to achieve them. For more information, visithttp://www.cardiacdatasolutions.com.

CONTACT: Karen Conway 303-564-2147 719-488-0359 This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information,visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Cardiac Data Solutions, Inc.