Reference no: EM131181833

An example of the difficulty of making judgments about quality of care could be illustrated through the experience of a patient undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. A patient with significant coronary artery disease consults with a cardiac surgeon prior to surgery. The cardiac surgeon spends little time with the patient during the preoperative visit. She makes little effort to educate the patient about what will happen before, during, and after surgery. One week later, the surgery is performed without complications. The length of stay for the patient in the acute care hospital is eleven days, which is five days longer than the average length of stay for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery in that particular hospital. The total hospital costs for that patient are $10,000 more than for an average patient in that particular hospital. After adjusting the length of stay and cost for case complexity, the cost and length of stay is still much greater than for comparable cases in that hospital and region. The patient, however, survived the operation and had an uncomplicated hospital course and was free from postoperative complications. Three months later, the patient’s health is excellent, and he is able to enjoy tennis free from symptoms. From a technical standpoint, the operation went flawlessly and the clinical outcome was excellent. The “art” of caring for the patient, however, was questionable, as the patient received little information about the care that he was going to receive before, during, and after surgery. The physician exhibited poor communication skills. And if utilization were considered a measure of quality, the prolonged length of stay and increased costs associated with the operation might be considered indicative of suboptimal quality of care. Williams, Stephen J. and Paul R. Torrens, Introduction to Health Services, 5th Edition, Delmar Publishers Now you decide. Did this patient receive excellent or poor quality medical care? Why?