Patients who had bariatric surgery at hospitals with a 5-star rating from HealthGrades experienced 43 percent fewer complications, on average, and spent 10 percent less time in the hospital than patients at hospitals that had average ratings, according to a news release on the study.
The variances tended to correlate with the frequency with which the facility performed bariatric procedures. The 5-star rated hospitals on average performed 646 bariatric surgeries over three years, while the 1-star hospitals averaged 384 cases over that time period, according to the release.
Furthermore, patients who had their surgery performed at a 1-star facility had a four-times higher risk of dying than those whose surgery was performed at a 5-star rated hospital.
Read a news release on the HealthGrades study of bariatric surgery quality.
