Home  |  Library  |  PRIME  |  E-mail


In an effort to improve the quality of healthcare, the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery strives to closely monitor and compare its outcome data for key surgical procedures performed to other medical centers nationally, statewide, and locally.

The Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery voluntarily submits its clinical surgical data to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) National Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. This allows the surgical team to continually compare outcomes on all types of surgical procedures with hospitals nationwide. The combination of clinical data collected and STS national outcome reports is used to continually monitor performance and drive opportunities for outcomes improvement.

At the state level, the division submits its data quarterly to the New York State Department of Health for the study of the effects of patient and treatment characteristics (called risk factors) on outcomes for patients with heart disease. Results have been used to create a cardiac profile system which assesses the performance of hospitals and surgeons over time. The purpose of this state wide profile system is multi-fold: understanding the health risks of patients which adversely affect how they will fare in coronary artery bypass surgery and/or valve surgery; improving the results of different treatments of heart disease; improving cardiac care; providing information to help patients make better decisions about their own care.

Internally, the division maintains sets of internal controls for quality measure. Mortality and Morbidity rates (M&M) are presented and studied on a monthly basis in Performance Improvement meetings.

In the effort of taking our commitment to quality of patient care a step further, we have initiated a patient satisfaction survey to be given to the patients to fill out during their post-operative visits in the office. The survey measures different aspects of the services our division and the hospital provided from the time of the patients initiate contact with the office through their hospital stay. We use this opportune time because that is when the patient’s memory of his/her entire experience is still fresh in his/her mind. The survey data is gathered and analyzed, which enables us to improve in our performance.

In other hospital wide meetings such as the Concern Over Patient Care (COPC) meeting, chaired by the Director of Patient Relations, meets weekly to present and review patients' comments and complaints for open discussion and investigation.

To Contact Us:

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
450 Clarkson Avenue, Box 40
Brooklyn, New York 11203
Tel: 718-270-1981 | Fax: 718-270-3843