Regionalization of Congenital Heart Surgery in the United States

The objective of this study is to simulate regionalization of congenital heart surgery (CHS) in the United States and assess the impact of such a system on travel distance and mortality. Patients ≤18 years of age that underwent CHS were identified in 2012 State Inpatient Databases. Operations were stratified by the Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery, version 1 (RACHS-1) method, with high risk defined as RACHS-1 levels 4-6. Regionalization was simulated by progressive closure of h ospitals, beginning with the lowest volume hospital.
Source: Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: CONGENITAL – Original Submission Source Type: research