Cardiac Surgery Consolidation - Improving Value in Care Delivery

While the last 20 years have seen a decrease in the number of cardiac surgical procedures performed in the United States, there has not been a commensurate decrease in the number of cardiac surgical programs. The result has been growth of lower-volume programs, which face disproportionate challenges across several important areas. Even though cardiac surgery consolidation seems to be a logical next step in markets where duplication of services exists, this rarely happens. Providence St. Joseph Health consolidated a moderate-sized cardiac surgery program into a nearby higher-volume center in order to better distribute limited resources, improve operational performance, and deliver better outcomes. An effort of this magnitude requires extensive planning, taking note of the risks and impact to patients and clinical teams alike.