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.
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.
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.
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.
Emily Bazar, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | January 16, 2012
This article was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Emily Bazar, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | November 21, 2011
At five Bon Secours Health System hospitals on the East Coast, giving fewer blood transfusions during heart surgeries has had some counterintuitive results: Not only did costs fall, but care improved, officials say.
"People think transfusions are good, but … the higher rate of transfusions that people get, that's associated with a longer hospital stay and a higher death rate," chief medical officer Marlon Priest says.
Emily Bazar, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | November 21, 2011
Efforts to rein in health care costs are putting pressure on doctors to abandon outmoded or unnecessary practices and choose less expensive treatments, actions cost-control advocates say also can improve care.
Health care systems, insurers and government agencies are using sophisticated data to identify doctors and hospitals operating outside medical norms. The goal: to wean doctors off procedures that don't necessarily benefit patients.
