Heart patients receive some of the best care in the country at the University of Maryland Medical Center, according to a study from health care research firm Thomson Reuters.
The University of Maryland Medical Center has been recognized as one of the country’s top 100 hospitals for cardiovascular care for its patient outcomes and efficiency. The hospital was among only 30 teaching hospitals on the list, and this is the second year in a row the medical center has received this distinction.
“We achieve things quickly and provide the most efficient and best quality care,” said Dr. Mandeep Mehra, chief of cardiology.
Thomson Reuters’ 100 top hospitals ranking examines the performance of 970 hospitals in caring for patients diagnosed with heart failure and heart attacks. The group also looked at clinical outcomes for those who received coronary bypass surgery and angioplasty.
Officials pointed to several innovations at the hospital that boosted its profile in cardiac care, such as the use of robots for minimally invasive surgery and real-time cardiac imaging in the treatment of heart disturbances.
Because it is an academic hospital, there isn’t too much focus on distinctions like this, but it does confirm the hospital staff’s efforts to modernize and innovate care, said Dr. Bartley Griffith, chief of cardiac surgery.
The technologies have helped make heart surgery a “little friendlier,” he added.
The hospital also has been listed in U.S. News & World Report’s best hospitals ranking for heart disease in 2008 and named to Leapfrog Group’s list of the nation’s best acute-care hospitals for quality and patient safety in 2008, for the third year in a row.
