Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery Collaborative Quality Initiative

In collaboration with the Michigan Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons, BCBSM has funded a quality initiative for cardiac surgery.

The project aims to reduce risk of complications and improve treatment methods before and after cardiac surgery for thousands of Michigan patients.

BCBSM funding will:

• Enable greater in-depth analysis of data
• Help coordinate best practices among surgeons in all 31 hospitals in Michigan that offer cardiac surgery
• Engage surgeons in an effort to delve more deeply than ever before into cardiac surgery outcomes and to take what is learned and apply it to better patient care statewide

The project builds upon data already compiled in the Society of Thoracic Surgeon national database. There are about 20,000 adult cardiac operations in Michigan annually.