- Number of Insured Patients Undergoing the Surgery Has Dropped Down by 50%
- Improving healthcare providers’ Clinical Quality Measures and Equipment Used Are Essential
- 46-55 years is the Most Concerned Age Group in the Surgery
Looking at the tremendous progress achieved in the field of medicine, doctors have today many alternative non-surgical treatment options which can save the life of the patient. A study conducted by the Data Science Department at GlobeMed Group, supervised by specialist doctors, demonstrated a 50% decrease in the number of insured patients undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery in Lebanon during 2010-2016. This decrease is due to the fact that doctors are opting to treat patients with Coronary Angioplasty and stents before considering the open heart surgery. Consequently, patients whose medical conditions prevented them in the past from undergoing the surgery are now able to benefit from alternative treatments. This trend has left its mark on the cost incurred on various involved parties including patients and insurers. In this context, GlobeMed Lebanon played an essential role through encouraging the insurance companies to raise the insurance coverage to include the latest stents starting 2012.
The study also revealed that 40 insured patients did the surgery in 2010, out of 155 patients during the whole study period. This number has dropped to reach 20 patients in 2016. It is worth mentioning that the year 2014 registered the lowest rate with 11 cases only undergoing the surgery. In comparison with U.S benchmarks, a similar decrease of 46% was registered during 2001-2011.
The importance of the study lies in demonstrating the characteristics of the insured patients that underwent the surgery. The age group 46-55 is the most concerned group in the surgery, where males are predominant with 87% versus 13% of females out of 155 insured patients during the said period. As for comorbidities, the study showed that 61.28% of patients suffer from one or more comorbidities, out of which 17.5% suffer from diabetes, 24% have hypertension, 8.7% have ischemic heart disease and 12.5% have metabolic disorder.
As for the outcomes rate after surgery, complications rate registered 9.62% (15 cases) during 2010-2016, infection rate 3.21% (5 cases), and mortality rate dropped down to 1.92% or 3 cases out of 155 insured patients, while 30.13% of patients were readmitted to hospital for further treatment. In comparison with the United States rates, complications rate is higher in Lebanon while mortality rate is lower.
With the progress achieved in the field of alternative treatments and medical equipment, doctors are now able to save more lives particularly that this advancement made CABG surgery relatively easier and recovery time faster.
In conclusion, the study recommends continuous work to be done on improving clinical quality measures and medical equipment which is essential to improve the health of patients and decrease the complications and readmission rates. The main objective remains to deliver cost efficient, effective and safe health services which will ease the burden on the patients and the insurance companies