(CHICAGO)  -  Rush University Medical Center is one of the top cardiovascular hospitals in the country, according to the Solucient 100 Top Hospitals®: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success study.

The annual Solucient award for cardiovascular services objectively measures clinical quality, performance and operational efficiency at the nation's top performing acute-care hospitals. The award recognizes heart hospitals that demonstrate superior performance.

“We are proud to be recognized for our commitment to provide the highest quality heart care.  From preventive measures to heart transplants, our team of cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, researchers and nurse specialists are on the leading edge of diagnosis, treatment, and discovery,” said Dr. Larry J. Goodman, president and CEO, Rush University Medical Center.

Solucient evaluated 844 hospitals on eight key performance areas that reflect clinical processes and outcomes, volume, efficiency and cost for four critical cardiovascular treatment areas: acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, coronary artery bypass graft, and percutaneous coronary intervention.

Among the key findings:

• If peer hospitals (non-winners) provided the same quality of cardiovascular care as the 100 Top Hospitals facilities, survival rates could increase by more than 8,000 patients each year. Another 574 patients also could have avoided developing complications such as infections and hemorrhaging.
• Both medical and surgical cardiovascular patients experience markedly higher survival rates at Top Hospitals. For example, the Top Hospitals had 21 percent fewer deaths than expected for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients while peer hospitals had only 1 percent fewer deaths than expected.
• The Top Hospitals performed up to 80 percent more percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) than their peers, and about 50 percent more CABGs. Previous research has shown that procedure volume is a critical factor in outcomes for cardiovascular patients.
• Benchmark hospitals are proving more efficient in treating cardiovascular patients. The average 100 Top Hospitals Cardiovascular winner discharges patients half a day earlier and at an average cost that is about 13 percent less than its peers.

Solucient developed the 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study to identify high-performing cardiovascular hospitals nationally and to set performance targets for improving clinical outcomes and management. 

The study analyzed acute-care hospitals nationwide using detailed empirical performance data from publicly available 2004 and 2005 Medicare MedPAR data and 2005 Medicare cost reports. The study appears in the Nov. 6 edition of Modern Healthcare magazine.

Evanston, IL, based Solucient® is an information products company serving the healthcare industry. Solucient provides comparative measurements of cost, quality and market performance by integrating, standardizing and enhancing healthcare information.