Older Heart Patients Fare Better When Doctors are Absent

The Associated Press reported that a new study indicates that contrary to what might be expected, older hospitalized heart patients may do better when doctors are not around. It’s hoped that the study may help doctors determine how to lower patient death rates.

As quoted in the market news:

Survival chances were better for cardiac arrest patients and for the sickest heart failure patients if they were treated at teaching hospitals during the two biggest national cardiology meetings, compared with those treated during weeks before and after the meetings. Also, some of the sickest heart attack patients got fewer invasive procedures during meeting days, versus those treated at other times — but that didn’t hurt their odds of surviving, the nine-year study found.

The findings were only at teaching hospitals, typically affiliated with medical schools and involved in doctor training and sometimes research; these are the workplaces for many doctors who attend major medical meetings. No differences were seen in death rates at non-teaching hospitals.

The evidence is only circumstantial and the study lacks information on whether the patients’ own doctors actually attended the meetings.

Click here to read the full report from The Associated Press.