Cost of Care Public Health 

Deadly risks: One family's tragic encounter with surgery

Partner: 
KQED Public Radio
San Francisco Chronicle
Summary: 

There are so many things Chuck Magner wishes now that he'd known about his father's illness and his doctors' proposed cure.  Chief among them is this: that his father, Jerry, who had a history of vascular problems, lived in a part of Northern California where he was much more likely to be recommended for a risky surgical procedure designed to prevent strokes.  Jerry Magner's story is a case study of the kinds of information patients and their families need to find out from their doctors and hospitals, but also of the difficulty they encounter trying to get the answers.

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Out of family's surgical tragedy, a lesson in health care
Emily Bazar, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | January 16, 2012
This article was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle.
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About this project
Center Staff | January 16, 2012
This project is a partnership of KQED, the San Francisco Chronicle and the California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting.   The center is funded by the nonpartisan California HealthCare Foundation. The study of medical procedures and geographical variation was conducted by Dr. Laurence Baker of Stanford University and was also funded by the California HealthCare Foundation. The work was commissioned by the Campaign for Effective Patient Care, an interest group that promoted the involvement of patients in making medical decisions. Formed during the health reform debate, the group recently disbanded.
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Letter from St. Helena
Center Staff | January 16, 2012
Reporters Emily Bazar and Kelley Weiss submitted several questions about this story to St. Helena Hospital.  Here is the hospital’s response.
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How the surgery study was conducted
Emily Bazar, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | January 16, 2012
For this study, Stanford professor Laurence Baker analyzed five years of statewide hospital (and some outpatient) discharge data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. He focused on 13 medical procedures, including a stroke prevention surgery called carotid endarterectomy. The data, representing 2005 through 2009, are tied to patient zip codes and reflect where the patients lived, not where they received care. Data from federal facilities, such as VA hospitals, are not included.
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Surgey set? Here's what to ask your doctor
Kelley Weiss, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | January 16, 2012
How should patients respond when a doctor recommends they undergo a major surgical procedure? They should ask a lot of very pointed questions, says Dr. Tej Singh, chief of vascular surgery at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
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BLOG: Online comment spurs reporting about risky surgery
Emily Bazar, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | January 16, 2012
San Francisco Chronicle readers made 130 thoughtful, funny, snarky and often informative online comments in response to my story about high rates of two common elective heart procedures among residents of the Clearlake area. One of those comments in particular jumped out. At 11:38 a.m. on September 6, 2011, “l8erg8or” posted this:
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KQED: Death prompts family's questions about risky surgery
Kelley Weiss, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | January 17, 2012
This story originally aired on KQED Public Radio. When it comes to health care, where you live matters. Not just for getting in to see a doctor but for what your odds are of having surgery. And if your chances for surgery are higher, that means your risk of having complications with the procedure are also higher.
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KQED: What patients need to consider before risky surgery
Kelley Weiss, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | January 17, 2012
This story originally aired on KQED Public Radio. How should patients respond when a doctor recommends they undergo a major surgical procedure?
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BLOG: Patients have a role in their own medical fate
Emily Bazar, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | January 19, 2012
Last summer, Chuck Magner’s father had a massive stroke during a surgery that was intended to prevent stroke, and died almost two weeks later. One of Chuck’s lingering concerns is that the hospital and surgeon hardly communicated with him or his family before the procedure. Chuck, who was in St. Louis on business at the time, only managed to get the hospital on the phone when his father, Jerry Magner, was already being prepped for surgery. “You are putting yourself in these people’s hands and they should keep you informed at all times of everything possible,” said Chuck, 55, of Concord.
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BLOG: California hospitals share data with each other
Kelley Weiss, CHCF Center for Health Reporting  | January 20, 2012
When I first heard that some surgeons don’t know how often their patients have major complications or die from a procedure, it was hard to believe. Could it be true that I can get more information about the quality of a flat screen TV or car, than a surgery that can kill me?  I was told about how many hospitals lack a centralized database to track complications. Beyond that, for the hospitals that do try there isn’t a standardized system to compile and analyze the data. But patient safety experts say without this information it’s hard for doctors to know how to avoid the same mistakes in the future.
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Coping with Loss - Audio Slideshow
Kelley Weiss, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | February 3, 2012
Chuck Magner and his mother, Cherry Magner, are trying to adjust to life without Jerry Magner, 79, who died in August after having a stroke prevention surgery. Audio slideshow produced in collaboration with the San Francisco Chronicle
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BLOG: Doctor who suffered his own medical tragedy responds to stories
Emily Bazar, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | February 13, 2012
Last month, we chronicled the story of Jerry Magner, a Northern California man who suffered a massive stroke as a result of a surgery that was intended to prevent stroke. Magner’s loved ones, still struggling with their loss, questioned whether the procedure should have been performed in the first place. Shortly after the stories ran and aired, I received this letter from John Maa, a surgeon and assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco:
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