CHD Surgery Outcomes and Transparency in Pediatric Cardiology

Hospitals and pediatric practices are under increasing pressure to be publicly transparent about their congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery quality and safety outcomes. The rapid growth of quality improvement initiatives and reporting surgical outcomes in pediatric heart care has made national news headlines in recent years. These reports have demonstrated the correlation between pediatric heart surgical volumes and outcomes for kids.

Listen to pediatric experts discuss transparency in CHD surgery outcomes

In this episode, we discuss outcomes transparency in pediatric heart care and the work that one nonprofit has done to lead the way in data transparency.

We are fortunate to have David Kasnic, Executive Director for the non-profit Conquering CHD, join us.

In this episode, our experts discuss:

• How the Conquering CHD nonprofit got started
• David’s daughter’s early experience with CHD and how she’s doing today
• Why outcome transparency matters
• The Hospital Navigator portal, who is using it and outcomes David has seen so far
• How providers can get more involved and use the Hospital Navigator tool as they talk to their patients
• How the tool can help parents of children born with CHD who quickly need to make a decision on the best hospital for their child
• The importance of all voices in the mission of Conquering CHD
• The possibility of regionalization of surgery for CHD as a downstream consequence of gathering outcomes in the Hospital Navigator database

How to get involved: patients and families

1. Visit the Hospital Navigator launch blog.
2. Check the list of participating centers.
3. Use the Patient and Family Advocacy Toolkit to talk to your center about joining.

How to get involved: providers/hospitals

1. Visit the Hospital Navigator launch blog.
2. Download the invitation letter and submission form.
3. Email questions to Rebeka Acosta, Education Coordinator, at racosta@conqueringchd.org.