June 25, 2026Journal of the American College of Cardiology
The New York State Cardiac Registries
Key result
Publicly releasing risk-adjusted cardiac data is linked to lower mortality and shifted referral patterns.
Why the study?
This communication aims to relate the history of the New York State cardiac registries initiative and review evidence regarding changes that have occurred since the public release of risk-adjusted cardiac data.
Design
Review and critique
Authors
Discussion
Loading...
Member takes
Key expert perspectives
Captured external expert commentary on this paper, strongest first. Original sources are linked where available.
LKLloyd KleinInterventional cardiologist, University of California San Francisco
“If we're going to use 30-day mortality after PCI as an indicator of operator and programmatic quality, then acute cases anticipated to have a high intrinsic risk have to be excluded because when they're included, the resulting event rate is higher inherently, which reflects only case acuity and not quality of service.”
“This is a great standard that others should follow.”
SRSunil RaoInterventional cardiologist, institution not specified
“Physicians are always trying to do what's best for the patients. I don't think that they're letting the public reporting drive their decision-making.”
Implication
Outcome variations prompted cardiac registries; leaves open their current impact on quality metrics.
Key Points
- This research outlines the development and effects of cardiac registries initiated in New York to monitor and improve outcomes in cardiac surgery.
- Review of historical data on hospital-level cardiac surgery outcomes since 1988
- Analysis of changes in surgical practices and patient referrals over decades
- Summarization of studies utilizing cardiac registries to assess treatment effectiveness and policy implications.
- Notable decreases in risk-adjusted mortality rates post-data release
- Cessation of surgery by low-volume, high-mortality surgeons in New York
- Changes in insurance contracts and market dynamics due to public data on hospital performance.
Structured PICO
P
Population
Patients undergoing cardiac surgery and percutaneous coronary interventions in New York State
E
Exposure
Development of clinical registries and public release of risk-adjusted mortality rates
O
Outcome
Impacts of public data release including changes in risk-adjusted mortality, provider behavior, and market share
The New York State Cardiac Registries and the public reporting of risk-adjusted outcomes have significantly impacted cardiac care delivery, leading to decreased mortality and changes in provider behavior.
Cite This Study
Hannan et al. (2012) conducted a review in Cardiac surgery and percutaneous coronary interventions. Public release of risk-adjusted cardiac data was evaluated. The public release of risk-adjusted cardiac data in New York State was associated with decreases in risk-adjusted mortality, changes in referral patterns, and modifications in market share.