Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Cited for Best Heart Care
In the May-June 2009 issue of
AARP The Magazine, the world’s largest circulation magazine, an article entitled, “The Right Hospital For You,” discussed the advantages of seeking care at the nation’s highest-ranked hospitals. Included in the article were results from a survey conducted by Consumers’ Checkbook, a nonprofit research organization. More than 140,000 physicians in 53 major metropolitan areas were asked where they were most likely to send patients with extremely difficult cases.
For heart care, the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital was among the nine hospitals cited. The other hospitals recognized were Brigham and Women’s Hospital; NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; The Johns Hopkins Hospital; Cleveland Clinic; Mayo Clinic; Stanford University Medical Center; and Massachusetts General Hospital.
The article noted that some large insurance companies are steering patients with unusual or complex medical problems to specialized institutions. These facilities, or “centers of excellence,” have more experience and better results, and they are also more likely to have familiarity with the latest research findings.
