Society of Thoracic Surgeons Hospital Ratings on Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery Outcomes

Martina · February 2018

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) has updated their star rating for hospitals based on congenital cardiothoracic surgery outcomes data for the period from July 2013 through June 2017. STS is an organization that works to ensure the best possible outcomes following congenital heart surgery. STS compared data from 118 participating programs. Star ratings are based on the overall risk-adjusted observed-to-expected operative morality ratio for all patients undergoing pediatric and/or congenital cardiac surgery. The system is constructed on overall risk-adjusted operative mortality rates: one star for programs with mortality rates statistically higher than expected, two stars for average mortality, and three stars for lower-than-average mortality rates.

Additionally, the STS National Database now has a fourth component. The Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support, or Intermacs, become part of the STS National Database on January 1, 2018, joining the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD), the Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD), and the General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD). Intermacs is a North American registry for patients who receive an FDA-approved mechanical circulatory support device to treat advanced heart failure.