BIDMC's Division of Cardiac Surgery earns top ratings from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons

BIDMC Communications mediarelations@bidmc.harvard.edu

JANUARY 06, 2020

National award places BIDMC’s program among the most elite in the US and Canada

The Division of Cardiac Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has earned top honors from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) in recognition of excellent patient care and outcomes in three categories: isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), isolated aortic valve replacement surgery (AVR) and combined AVR and CABG surgeries. The Society’s three-star ratings, which denote the highest category of quality, place BIDMC's Cardiac Surgery program among the most elite in the United States and Canada for CABG, AVR and CABG-AVR procedures.

"Our Cardiac Surgery program has reached a new milestone in the 'star rating' quality metric issued by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons," said Kamal Khabbaz, MD, Chief of Cardiac Surgery at BIDMC. "We were able to achieve the society's highest three-star rating in three separate procedures, an accomplishment that reflects the care and dedication of our surgeons and our staff, who ensure that our patients always receive the highest quality care. These honors also reflect  our department’s commitment to collaboration across cardiac surgery, cardiology, anesthesia and other disciplines."

As one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, the STS star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.

The average percentage of participants receiving the three star rating is as follows:

  • Isolated AVR Surgery: Approximately 5 percent of participants, covering a three-year period from July 2016 to June 2019;
  • Isolated CABG Surgery: Approximately 7 percent of participants, covering a one-year period from July 2018 to June 2019;
  • Combined CABG and AVR Surgery:Approximately 5 percent of participants, covering a three-year period from July 2016 to June 2019.

The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons.

About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a leading academic medical center, where extraordinary care is supported by high-quality education and research. BIDMC is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and consistently ranks as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.