Physician Certification and In-Hospital Outcomes

Some differences are seen in physicians with or without interventional cardiology certification, but certification does not strongly predict outcomes.

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) now provides initial certification, recertification, and maintenance certification. But is certification associated with better outcomes? To determine whether interventional cardiology (ICARD) certification affects outcomes, investigators used data from the national CathPCI Registry to compare in-hospital outcomes of patients receiving percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) in 2010 from physicians with or without ICARD certification. Physicians had performed at least 10 PCIs.

The primary endpoints were all-cause in-hospital mortality and bleeding complications. Secondary endpoints were emergency coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), vascular complications, and a composite of any adverse ev…

Reviewing Author

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Physician Certification and In-Hospital Outcomes

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Reviewing Author