Huntsville (Ala.) Hospital is opposing plans by Crestwood Medical Center, also in Huntsville, to create a permanent elective angioplasty program, over patient safety concerns according to a Huntsville Times report.
Crestwood Medical Center is seeking a certificate of need for the program after having performed the procedure more than 1,000 times as part of a research trial. The research, sponsored by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, revolves around whether hospitals without open-heart surgery can safely perform coronary angioplasty.
While a 2009 Mayo Clinic study found no difference in the safety or effectiveness of the procedure between hospitals with and without open-heart surgery, Huntsville Hospital CEO David Spillers is not convinced. He said the American College of Cardiology has warned against coronary angioplasty at hospitals that do not perform open-heart surgery, according to the report.
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Crestwood Medical Center is seeking a certificate of need for the program after having performed the procedure more than 1,000 times as part of a research trial. The research, sponsored by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, revolves around whether hospitals without open-heart surgery can safely perform coronary angioplasty.
While a 2009 Mayo Clinic study found no difference in the safety or effectiveness of the procedure between hospitals with and without open-heart surgery, Huntsville Hospital CEO David Spillers is not convinced. He said the American College of Cardiology has warned against coronary angioplasty at hospitals that do not perform open-heart surgery, according to the report.
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