[Stoat]

Release of Mortality Data for Surgeons in Scotland - NHS National Services Scotland

[Onelifetogive]

Statistics like these can be VERY misleading...

If I recall correctly, Arizona is one of the worst states statistically for lung disease.....because it has the best air quality!

[WayneS]

That's a good idea.

[blau993]

Ah yes. Further advances in critical thinking from those that subscribe to the old axiom that because so many people die in hospitals, hospitals must be the leading cause of death.

[ricardobaltazar]

I don't want to go to the hospital.

People die there. :o

[mtbopfuyn]

apples and oranges

[M203M4]

I hope this doesn't lead to surgeons turning down near-hopeless cases out of fear that patients requiring less complicated versions of the same procedure will opt for an experienced surgeon whose record has not been "artificially" blemished by taking on desperate cases with low chances of success.

[Mark Felton]

I'd like to know the statistics for death rates caused by errors in surgical procedure.

The death rates alone could be very misleading and damaging to perfectly excellent surgeons.

Perhaps surgeons would only take cases that are low risk.

[xenophiles]

Maybe a betting pool would be a better indicator. Anyone can offer a bet, including physicians who have access to the patient's medical history, so the odds will tend to stabilize at a pretty good estimate of the patient's actual chances. And it could double as a very handy form of insurance (both life and malpractice).

Now if only I can solve the privacy problem and the danger of a surgeon "throwing the game"...

[LexBaird]

Hellooo everybody!

[Emmalein]

The results, unless categorized properly, could be very misleading and easily misconstrued. If you compare a surgeon on call for an emergency room to a surgeon who deals with surgery for sports injuries (torn ligaments, etc.), you are comparing apples to oranges.

[dinoparty]

What a dumbass idea. Now surgeons will be encouraged to pad their statistics by taking only easy cases.

[Neoliberalnot]

This is a useless piece of information meant to trash an honorable profession. Every case is different in terms of how advanced the condition is, age of patient, and many other surgical risk factors. Referral surgical candidates are often the ones nobody wants to tackle because of the high risk of failure.

How bout publishing lawyers salaries, their win-loss records, etc. When was the last time a lawyer was sued for malpractice? Go figure.

[caveat emptor]

A interesting topic. For anyone thinking the stats should be either not collected or not made available, try expanding that idea to most other goods and services.

A book was published in 1989 describing a situation in California where a group of cardiologists started keeping records on the thoracic surgeons who were operating on their patients because of suspicious anamolies which they wanted to document. The fact that those records were being kept was discovered by a newspaper reporter, who somehow got hold of some or all of the info and ... it's been 16 years since I read the book, and don't remember details of how the lawsuits played out, other than that the cardiologists were on to something, there was a massive coverup by hospitals and a med school, and a senior cardiologist lost his job. And IIRC big payouts to some thoracic surgeons. go figure.

Gripping stuff. My power went out about half an hour ago, I have limited battery backup, and power could be off for hours or days??(I live in very isolated area) otherwise I would do some internet searches to see whats available online. I did a quick amazon search, and didn't find the book.

Title is "Heart Failure"
Author is Thomas J. Moore
ISBN is 0-394-56958-X

I'll be back. I own a copy, and if there's time I'll have a look and do a quick read to see if it's worth following up on.

Nice to have my memory jogged on that one.