The Ochsner Cancer Institute has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and lung cancer resection (lung lobectomy) outcomes. The three-star rating, which denotes the highest category of quality, places the Ochsner Cancer Institute in the top 2.5% of thoracic surgery programs in the United States and Canada.
“The Ochsner Cancer Institute offers a high level of cancer care, allowing patients to focus on their treatment while multiple care team members guide them throughout every step of their journey. Our providers work together to determine the best course of treatment for our patients with the goal of the best possible outcomes. It is a privilege to receive the STS three-star rating and to be included among the most notable in the country for general thoracic surgery,” said Brian Pettiford, MD, MBA, FACS, thoracic surgical oncology, Ochsner Health.
Ochsner’s thoracic surgery program is part of a multidisciplinary specialty team that includes pulmonary medicine, thoracic pathology, radiation therapy and medical oncology.
STS General Thoracic Surgery Public Reporting offers a comparison of GTSD and national outcomes, demonstrating the high performance of GTSD participants. The latest analysis of data for lung cancer resection covers a three-year period, from January 2020 to December 2022.
“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings,” said David M. Shahian, MD, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. “Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and provides patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.”
The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. The Database includes four components: the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD), the Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD), the GTSD, and the mechanical circulatory support database (Intermacs).
The GTSD contains more than 616,000 general thoracic surgery procedure records and has approximately 1,000 participating physicians. Almost 35% of GTSD participants are currently enrolled in public reporting.