San Diego Hospitals’ Low Number Of Cancer Surgeries Concerns Experts
Hospitals that do far fewer procedures than recommended “should go out of business” for that cancer surgery type and refer those patients to a higher volume hospital, says Dr. Bruce Spurlock, board chairman of the California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Taskforce.
inewsource:
Cancer Surgery Volumes At San Diego Hospitals May Warn Of Complications
Getting diagnosed with cancer is scary enough. But if surgery is involved, with all its potential complications, any patient wants to find the best hospital. Unfortunately, there’s no certain way to tell. But CalQualityCare.org, operated by the California Health Care Foundation, can give a strong clue. Most experts agree that for specific procedures such as lung, pancreas, esophageal or rectal cancer surgeries, higher volume hospitals have better outcomes and lower mortality. The Oakland-based nonprofit used a state database to see each hospital’s volume for 11 cancer surgery types. It found that in 2014, an alarming number of San Diego County hospitals did far fewer specific cancer surgeries than what is recommended. (Clark, 9/12)