Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council 1

Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council 2

Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council 3

Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council 4

Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council 5

Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council 6

Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council 7

Angioplasty (PCI)

21 hospitals in Massachusetts perform a medical procedure called angioplasty (also called “percutaneous cardiovascular intervention” or “PCI.”) Doctors do this by inserting a small tube into blood vessels that go to the heart. This procedure helps re-open any blocked blood vessels. Angioplasty can help save heart muscle and reduce the severity of a heart attack. To learn more about angioplasty, go to [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/angioplasty.html]

Angioplasty is sometimes elective. This means that patients and their doctors have time to decide which hospital to use. It helps to know about hospital quality and cost when you decide where to go for surgery. Of note, higher cost does not mean better quality. It is important to know about both no matter whether you or your health plan pays for your hospital care.

If you are at risk for heart disease, you may want to know in advance about the quality and cost of care at hospitals in your area. You may have some choice of which hospital to go to in your local area, even in an emergency.

How is quality measured?

For angioplasty, quality is measured by mortality (death) rates. This looks at the number of patients who die after having angioplasty. A lower mortality rate means fewer patients died.