Piedmont Athens Regional has been identified as one of the nations’ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals™ according to an independent quality analysis based on a balanced scorecard provided by PINC AI™, the technology and services brand of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) and reported by Fortune. 

“Receiving a national designation as one of the top 50 hospitals for cardiovascular care in the U.S. is an incredible honor and doesn’t happen without a team who’s one hundred percent committed to patient care excellence,” said Piedmont Athens Regional CEO Michael Burnett. “Piedmont Athens Regional’s cardiology services are exceptionally advanced, with our providers performing innovative, cutting-edge procedures and achieving positive patient outcomes. Everyone associated with this service line works hard and has earned this outstanding recognition.”

To create the list, an objective, quantitative analysis of publicly available data was conducted to identify the top cardiovascular hospitals in the United States. The primary purpose of the PINC AI^™ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals^™ program is to inspire hospital and health system leaders to pursue higher performance and deliver added value to patients and communities. Organizations do not apply to participate in the study, and award winners do not pay to market their honor.

Performance of Facilities on the PINC AI^™ 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals^™ Program List:

• 28 percent fewer acute myocardial infarction (AMI) deaths and 50 percent fewer coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) deaths.

• 32 percent fewer percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and 38 percent fewer CABG  patients with complications. Higher 30-day survival rates for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF) and CABG patients (0.3 to 0.7 percentage points higher).

• Higher 30-day survival rates for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF) and CABG patients (0.3 to 0.7 percentage points higher).

• Lower 30-day readmission rates for AMI, HF and CABG patients (0.4 to 0.8 percentage points lower).

• Shorter average lengths of stay between patient groups – 0.3 for AMI, 0.6 for HF, 0.3 for PCI and one full day for CABG.

• $2,503 to $9,931 less in total costs per patient case (the smallest dollar-amount difference was for HF and the largest was for CABG).

• Patients had a better experience at top performing hospitals compared to the remaining peer hospitals, with a top-box Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score of 71 percent versus 67 percent.

Compared to peer hospitals, those in the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals^™ operated at lower cost and had better outcomes, recording significantly higher inpatient survival rates, fewer patients with complications, lower readmission rates and up to nearly $10,000 less in total costs per patient case.

These outcomes add up to meaningful differences. According to the study’s analysis, if all hospitals operated at the level of this year’s top performers, there could be 7,600 fewer deaths due to heart disease, 6,700 fewer bypass and angioplasty patients who suffer complications, and more than $1 billion in inpatient costs could have been saved for the 2024 study year. 

“Hospital and health system leaders are focused on raising the quality and value of cardiovascular care,” said Leigh Anderson, Premier’s Chief Operating Officer and the leader of PINC AI^™. “A selection as one of the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals^™ is a great honor and demonstrates the importance of hospitals tackling cardiovascular disease – one of America’s leading causes of death. As one of the 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals^™, Piedmont Athens Regional has achieved high-quality cardiovascular care that has directly led to significantly improved patient outcomes, with fewer readmissions and complications.”