High Point Medical Center Named One of the Nation's 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by IBM Watson Health

November 7, 2018

Wake Forest Baptist Health – High Point Medical Center has been named one of the nation’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by IBM Watson HealthTM.  The Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals™ study is now in its 20th year.

The Watson Health 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals study uses 2016 and 2017 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data, 2017 Medicare cost reports (2016 if 2017 reports were not available) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare published in the second quarter of 2018. Hospitals were scored in key value-based performance areas: risk-adjusted mortality, risk-adjusted complications, percentage of coronary bypass patients with internal mammary artery use, 30-day mortality rates, 30-day readmission rates, severity-adjusted average length of stay, wage- and severity-adjusted average cost per case and, new this year, CMS 30-day episode payment measures.

“High Point Medical Center is dedicated to providing optimal care for heart attack patients,” said Jason Carter, Associate Vice President, Heart and Vascular Services at High Point Medical Center. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care by being recognized as a Watson Health Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospital. The Congdon Heart and Vascular Center is unique in our region and we are proud to provide this facility to our patients, not only from High Point, but surrounding communities as well.”

If all cardiovascular providers in the U.S. performed at the level of this year's winners (based on Medicare patients only), results industry-wide could amount to: over 10,300 additional lives saved, $1.8 billion saved, and 2,800 additional bypass and angioplasty patients could be complication-free.

“Cardiovascular disease is among the most widespread and costliest diseases in the U.S. with an annual price tag of roughly $317 billion. It is estimated that cardiovascular disease accounts for approximately $1 out of every $6 spent on healthcare in the country.  That is why it is so critical that hospitals find new and innovative ways to deliver better care at a lower cost,” said Ekta Punwani, 100 Top Hospitals® program leader at IBM Watson Health. “The winning hospitals in our study have established the new benchmark for cardiac care performance by driving consistently better outcomes at a lower cost per case than non-winning hospitals.”

The winning hospitals were announced in the November 5th edition of Modern Healthcare magazine.

For more information, visit www.100tophospitals.com.

Media contacts:

Becky Kreitz, becky.kreitz@wakehealth.edu336-878-6711