Wilkes-Barre General Hospital (file photo)

Wilkes-Barre General Hospital (file photo)

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A new statewide study for five cardiac procedures showed the patient outcomes in Luzerne County hospitals were usually within expected limits, but that Wilkes-Barre General reported higher-than-expected extended post-operative stays in two procedures.

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council issued a “Cardiac Procedures Report” reviewing data from Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2021. As usual, the council advised that patient decisions not be made solely on data it collects, but that the report “can assist consumers and purchasers in making more informed health care decisions,” and that “the report can also serve as an aid to providers in highlighting additional opportunities for quality improvement and cost containment.”

The report looked at five procedures: Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) that uses healthy blood vessels from another part of the body to bypass a blocked artery; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) for a heart attack, which uses a catheter to insert a stent that opens blood vessels narrowed by plaque buildup; PCI without a heart attack; Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (SAVR), a valve replacement done through open heart surgery; and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, which inserts a new valve inside the diseased valve using a catheter rather than open surgery.

The report only gave data for hospitals where a given procedure was regularly performed, and only for adults 18 and older. cases with a diagnosis of COVID-19 were not included, and data was adjusted to account for high-risk patients. If there were fewer than five cases no data was provided other than the number of cases.

The data includes the total number of cases in the hospital for the covered time period and the average hospital charge for each procedure. It also provides a look at patient outcomes for mortality, readmission (in seven days, 30 days and 90 days), and extended post-operative length of stay. In each case, the outcome is reported as a rate “significantly lower than expected,” “not significantly different than expected,” or “significantly higher than expected.” Mortality rates were not reported for TAVR or for PCI without a heart attack.

Of Luzerne County’s three acute care hospitals, Lehigh Valley Hazleton was not on the lists for any of the five procedures. At the county’s southernmost end, the hospital regularly transfers complicated cases to the system’s main facility, Lehigh Valley Allentown.

Of the two remaining hospitals in the county, only Geisinger Wyoming Valley had data for all five procedures. Wilkes-Barre General reported only one Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement so no data was provided, and it was not on the list for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

For coronary bypass (CABG), Geisinger Wyoming Valley reported 201 cases with an average charge of $295,256, and all outcomes were not significantly different than expected. Wilkes-Barre General reported 72 cases with an average charge of $341,524 and all but one outcome within expected ranges: The hospital had a significantly higher-than-expected rate of extended post-operative stays.

For PCI with a heart attack, Geisinger Wyoming Valley reported 352 cases at an average charge of $157,642 and all outcomes not significantly different than expected. Wilkes-Barre General reported 190 cases at an average charge of $174,387 and again had all outcomes within the expected rates except for a higher-than-expected rate of extended post-operative stays.

For PCI without a heart attack, Geisinger Wyoming Valley reported 85 cases at an average charge of $158,850 and outcomes within expected ranges except for extended post-operative stays, which occurred at a rate significantly lower than expected. Wilkes-Barre General reported 205 cases at an average charge of $168,811 and all outcomes within the expected ranges.

For SAVR (surgical valve replacement), Geisinger Wyoming Valley reported 25 cases at an average charge of $282,687. For TAVR (catheter valve replacement), the hospital reported 180 cases at an average charge of $312,628. For both procedures, all outcomes were within expected rates.

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish