HealthGrades has released new ratings of hospital-based bariatric programs, covering 468 hospitals in 19 states where data is publicly available, according to a release by HealthGrades.
The ratings gave 107 hospitals five stars, for best performance, and 100 hospitals one star, for poorest performance, while 261 hospitals earned three stars. Ratings were based on outcomes of 193,518 surgeries performed from 2007 to 2009.
HealthGrades reported that:
- Bariatric surgery patients have an almost 70 percent lower risk of experiencing in-hospital complications at five-star hospitals than at a one-star ones.
- Patients at a five-star facility spent half a day less in the hospital on average than patients in one-star facilities — 1.93 days versus 2.38 days, respectively.
- Cost of the surgery varies widely by state, with California the most expensive, averaging $65,251 per surgery, and Maryland the least expensive, averaging $16,390.
Read the HealthGrades release on bariatric programs.
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