Bariatric Surgery Patients Have 65 Percent Lower Chance of Complications at Top-Performing...

Bariatric Surgery Patients Have 65 Percent Lower Chance of Complications at Top-Performing Hospitals: HealthGrades Study

- Better-Performing Hospitals Have Much Higher Volumes -

- Trend Toward Less-Invasive Laparoscopic Procedures Continues as
Number of Procedures and Complication Rates Rise -
GOLDEN, Colo.--(Business Wire)--
Bariatric surgery patients treated at highly rated hospitals have,
on average, a 65 percent lower chance of experiencing serious
complications compared to patients who undergo surgery at poorly rated
hospitals according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the
nations leading independent healthcare ratings organization. As part
of the study, the quality ratings of hospitals performing bariatric
surgery in 17 states became available today at www.healthgrades.com.

HealthGrades' third annual Bariatric Surgery Trends in American
Hospitals study, which evaluated bariatric surgical outcomes at every
hospital that performed them in 17 states, also found that the
complication rate for these surgeries continues to rise, increasing
six percent from 2004 to 2006. One possible reason: lower volume
facilities have higher complication rates.

Bariatric surgery is a general term describing several types of
weight loss procedures. HealthGrades study analyzed the outcomes of
the most common, including traditional open surgical gastric bypass
procedures as well as newer, less invasive procedures such as
"lap-banding" and laparoscopic gastric bypass.

Complications associated with gastric bypass surgery accounted for
the highest rise in complications, increasing 17 percent.
Comparatively, complications from less invasive laparoscopic surgery
increased by just more than one percent. Complications associated with
bariatric surgery include heart attack, kidney failure, stroke and
post-surgical infections.

The HealthGrades study found a significant shift toward
laparoscopic bariatric procedures. From 2004 through 2006, open
gastric bypass procedures declined by 81.82 percent while during the
same time period laparoscopic procedures increased 418.86 percent.

Meanwhile, the total volume of bariatric surgical procedures in
the U.S. continues to grow rapidly. The American Society for Bariatric
Surgery estimates that such surgeries have increased 1,431 percent in
the last decade to more than 250,000 annually.

"The tremendous variation we are seeing in quality among bariatric
surgery providers underscores the importance of readily available
quality data to help consumers make a truly informed decision about
where to seek care," said Rick May, MD, a senior physician advisor
with HealthGrades and an author of the study.

Additionally, the third annual HealthGrades Bariatric Surgery
Trends in American Hospitals study found that:

-- A typical patient having a bariatric surgical procedure at a
five-star rated hospital in one of the 17 states studied has, on
average, a 65 percent lower chance of experiencing one or more
inhospital complications than at a one-star rated hospital and a 41
percent lower chance than at a three-star rated hospital during
2004-2006.

-- Five-star (top rated) hospitals performed almost twice the
volume of procedures compared to 1-star and 3-star facilities-an
average of 526 procedures from 2004 through 2006 compared with 266 and
283, respectively.

-- Higher volume was associated with fewer risk-adjusted
complications. Facilities with an annual case volume of 125 procedures
had the lowest risk-adjusted complications. Facilities performing less
than 25 cases per year had the highest rate of risk-adjusted
complications.

-- If all patients had received their bariatric surgery procedure
at 5-star hospitals (from 2004 through 2006), 5,125 inhospital
complications could have been potentially avoided in the 17 states
studied.

HealthGrades Bariatric Surgery Ratings

HealthGrades' quality ratings for bariatric surgery at individual
hospitals in 17 states were posted today to www.healthgrades.com as a
free resource for consumers. Each hospital receives a star rating
based on their patient outcomes for bariatric surgery. Hospitals with
above-average outcomes receive a five-star rating. Hospitals with
average outcomes receive a three-star rating, and hospitals with
outcomes that are below average receive a one-star rating.

The study included a total of 154,451 bariatric inpatient surgery
procedures performed in 680 hospitals in 17 states from 2004 through
2006. The majority of procedures were performed in four states: New
York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and California.

-- 93 hospitals stand out as "best" performers (5-star rated)

-- 263 hospitals were rated as "as expected" performers (3-star
rated)

-- 99 hospitals were rated as "poor" performers (1-star rated)

Individuals contemplating bariatric surgery will find both quality
and cost information at www.healthgrades.com. In addition to the free
hospital-quality ratings, Web site visitors can also research surgeons
who perform bariatric surgery as well as medical-cost reports that
detail all of the costs, including out-of-pocket expenses, for the
procedure.

Methodology

For this study, HealthGrades analyzed 154,451 bariatric procedures
performed in the years 2004, 2005 and 2006. The states included in the
study are Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

To make accurate and valid comparisons of clinical outcomes at
different hospitals with different patient characteristics,
HealthGrades risk-adjusted the data using multivariate logistic
regression to account for age, gender and underlying medical
conditions that could increase the patient's risk of mortality or
complication. The full study and individual hospital ratings for
bariatric surgery and other procedures can be found at
www.healthgrades.com.

About HealthGrades

Health Grades, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGRD) is the leading healthcare
ratings organization, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals,
nursing homes and physicians. Millions of consumers and many of the
nation's largest employers, health plans and hospitals rely on
HealthGrades' independent ratings, advisory services and
decision-support resources to make healthcare decisions based on the
quality and cost of care. More information on the company can be found
at http://www.healthgrades.com.

Health Grades, Inc.
Scott Shapiro, 720-963-6584
sshapiro@healthgrades.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008