HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Aurelio Chaux Jack M. Matloff Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Denton, T. A. Articles by Matloff, J. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Denton, T. A. Articles by Matloff, J. M.

Ann Thorac Surg 1995;59:486-493
© 1995 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

A Cardiothoracic Surgery Information System for the Next Century: Implications for Managed Care

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

Accepted for publication October 21, 1994.

The United States health care system is under tremendous pressure to cut costs while maintaining quality. One mechanism to reduce costs is managed care—a system with both risks and benefits for patients, providers, and payors, and one that requires large volumes of data to ensure optimal medical and financial decision-making. In this review, we describe the types of information needed by managed care systems, including medical outcome data (satisfaction, survival, quality of life, and complications) and financial data (costs and long-term resource utilization). From a provider's point of view, the customers for these data range from individual patients to large self-insured corporations, and we describe the data required for each potential customer. Finally, as a concrete example of how data can be collected and analyzed to improve a provider's competitiveness, we describe the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center cardiothoracic surgery database from a managed care perspective. The concepts presented are generalizable to other subspecialties, and will become more important in the increasingly competitive milieu of American health care.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. R. Clarke Presidential address: Value, viability, and valves J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., July 1, 2002; 124(1): 1 - 6. [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Denton, L. Trento, M. Cohen, R. M. Kass, C. Blanche, S. Raissi, W. Cheng, G. P. Fontana, and A. Trento Radial artery harvesting for coronary bypass operations: Neurologic complications and their potential mechanisms J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., May 1, 2001; 121(5): 951 - 956. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. J. Zehr, P. B. Dawson, S. C. Yang, and R. F. Heitmiller Standardized clinical care pathways for major thoracic cases reduce hospital costs Ann. Thorac. Surg., September 1, 1998; 66(3): 914 - 919. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Denton, J. Luevanos, and J. M. Matloff Clinical and Nonclinical Predictors of the Cost of Coronary Bypass Surgery: Potential Effects on Health Care Delivery and Reimbursement Arch Intern Med, April 27, 1998; 158(8): 886 - 891. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. L. Grover The Bright Future of Cardiothoracic Surgery in the Era of Changing Healthcare Delivery Ann. Thorac. Surg., February 1, 1996; 61(2): 499 - 510. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				D. A. Cooley Building Shelters : Safeguards in Public Disclosure of Outcomes Data Circulation, January 1, 1996; 93(1): 1 - 3. [Full Text]