Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Risk Factors for Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Abstract

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons remains greatly concerned about the use of raw mortality data as the sole measure to determine quality of care following coronary artery bypass surgery. Use of such data without consideration of risk factors that are predictors of hospital mortality and of other indices of quality of care is inappropriate and misleading and may adversely affect the care of the high-risk cardiac surgical patient. The Society is committed to the principle of providing the public with accurate information regarding the conduct of coronary artery surgery. However, it believes that the data provided by HCFA do not provide this information and should not be used as the sole index of quality of care following coronary artery bypass surgery.