Background Considerable variability exists in the use of cardiac procedures for patients with
heart disease. One cause for this variability is the availability of local facilities to perform …

Previous studies have demonstrated that regionalization of resources for cardiac
catheterization, percutaneous coronary artery angioplasty (PTCA), and coronary artery …

Background. There have been few studies of the extent to which differences in the pool of
patients being managed might account for geographic variations in treatment rates …

Objectives. Utilization rates for cardiac catheterization and cardiac surgery in the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system were studied to determine whether …

Background—The number of hospitals offering invasive cardiac services (diagnostic
angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention, and coronary artery bypass grafting) has …

Objectives: Utilization rates of coronary angiography and cardiac revascularization have
been found to vary between areas. This study addresses the relationship between resource …

Objectives: To examine geographical variations in rates of coronary artery bypass grafting
(CABG) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in New York State …

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of the study was to compare use of invasive cardiovascular
procedures among Latino, Asian, African-American, and White patients. METHODS. In a …

Background The emergence of specialty hospitals focusing on narrow procedural areas has
generated controversy, although little is known about their quality. Methods We conducted a …

In 1988, the New York State Health Commissioner was confronted with hospital-level data
demonstrating very large, multiple-year, interhospital variations in short-term mortality and …