Dates

• Existence: 1995 - 1996

biographical statement

On June 25, 1996, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 415, which provided for the establishment of a Select Committee to examine the significance of creating new open-heart surgery programs in Pennsylvania. The members of this Select Committee included Roy Cornell (chairman), George Kenney, Louise Bishop, Ronald Buxton, J. Scott Chadwick, David Mayernik, and Don Walko. The primary issue before the committee was the modification of criteria for new programs proposed within the draft chapter on open-heart surgery in the State Health Plan. Modifications to this plan could very well have led to the creation of numerous open-heart surgery programs in the state of Pennsylvania.

The findings of the Select Committee included the identification of several underutilized surgery programs in the city of Philadelphia, factors that influence the quality of open heart surgery, the demands of academic medical centers to train surgeons, and the relationship between death rates and open-heart surgery program volumes. While the total number of surgeries performed in Pennsylvania increased dramatically between 1989 and 1995, none of the programs established during this period fulfilled their target number of surgeries in a given year.



The Select Committee to Review Open Heart Surgery submitted their final report to the legislature in November of 1996. The majority concluded that allowing additional programs to develop would only dilute patient volume within the already existing programs, which could potentially have led to reductions in quality and access to care. In addition the Select Committee stated there was no compelling benefit to develop additional programs, arguing that the state already had enough open-heart surgery programs available to accommodate the need of its citizens. They recommended that the Department of Health not revise the draft chapter in the State Health Plan.

However, the minority members of the Select Committee collaborated on their own report, which they claimed better reflected information from the Select Committee's public hearings. The minority's findings state that the relationship between volume of patients and cost savings is less conclusive, and it in no way influences the death rates associated with open-heart surgery. It argues that the Department of Health should amend its Health Plan in order to establish three new programs and endeavor to keep the Robert Packer Hospital's program in operation because it provides accessible service to the northern region of the state.

Abstract:

Select Committee for Open-Heart Surgery pursuant to House Resolution 415 of 1995-1996 Records

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