BOSTON and CLEVELAND – Boston Children’s Hospital and Cleveland Clinic have entered into an agreement to provide complex pediatric heart services through Cleveland Clinic’s Cardiovascular Specialty Network, bringing together two world-renowned institutions to establish and manage best practices related to patient care, outcome measurement, quality reporting and clinical research for children’s cardiovascular care.
Cleveland Clinic has been ranked No. 1 in adult cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report for 23 consecutive years and Boston Children’s is the No. 1-ranked children’s hospital and has been a top-ranked heart care program for 22 consecutive years.
“Teamwork in many forms is the next phase of American medicine. We’re finding new ways to combine our individual strengths for better patient care and higher value,” said Hani Najm, M.D., chair of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery at Cleveland Clinic.
New home for Cleveland Clinic Children’s, opening 2018. (Artist rendering.)
As part of the collaboration, Boston Children’s has been given special status in the network, including: participation in leadership of the pediatric program along with Cleveland Clinic, and sharing in the establishment and management of best practices related to patient care, outcome measurement, quality reporting and clinical research for cardiovascular care for children.
“Together, our goal to develop and provide consistently high-quality outcomes will drive ongoing improvement and spur innovations for the benefit of patients and families. The collaboration between our organizations offers access to high quality, cost effective care to employers’ families who need the most complex heart care,” said Pedro J. del Nido, M.D., chief of Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children’s.
“Boston Children’s is well-known for its commitment to providing high-quality patient outcomes, as are we,” said Lars Svensson, M.D., chair of the Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute. “This agreement will bring together two great institutions dedicated to improving pediatric cardiac surgery care. With this relationship, we look forward to offering more families access to this world-class, complex care and to collaborating with the Boston Children’s team in order to continue to improve and innovate.”
“The Cardiovascular Specialty Network programs offer patients and families immediate access to best-quality heart care, not only for catheter and surgical procedures, but also for diagnosis,” notes Tess (Elizabeth) Saarel, M.D., the Ross Family Endowed Chair for Pediatric Cardiology at Cleveland Clinic. “One of the important benefits we’ve seen in children referred to the network has been the avoidance of unnecessary surgeries and procedures. We’re excited to partner with Boston Children’s heart team, which shares our commitment to the best care for children.”
Boston Children’s Hospital
The two organizations intend to eventually expand the services beyond heart care to include other complex and rare pediatric care.
“During this time of increasing demand for value in the healthcare marketplace, teaming up with another renowned institution such as Cleveland Clinic provides a way for more patients from across the nation to access world-class specialized care,” said pediatric surgeon Steven J. Fishman, M.D., president of Physician Organization and senior vice president of Access and Business Services at Boston Children’s. “This agreement offers high-quality healthcare while managing costs.”
Using innovative, research-driven and personalized therapies, Boston Children’s Hospital Heart Center cares for heart patients from all over the world for treatment of common problems to complex congenital heart conditions. Even in the most complex cases, surgical success rates are among the highest in the world. Boston Children’s is recognized as one of the largest pediatric heart centers in the world and over the last five years has performed 6,881 cardiac surgeries, 7,607 catheterizations and 3,405 electrophysiology procedures. The hospital also reported 23,547 echocardiograms and 25,272 clinic visits in 2016.
Cleveland Clinic Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute
Cleveland Clinic has been a leader in the development of a national network that offers curated providers and services directly to national employers and payers. Cleveland Clinic’s pediatric heart program has consistently produced clinical outcomes better than the national average, as reported by The Society for Thoracic Surgery (STS). Since the inception of its pediatric heart program in 1985, Cleveland Clinic has performed more than 150 pediatric heart transplant surgeries. The hospital also reported 8,331 pediatric outpatient visits, 7,114 echocardiograms and 438 catheterization procedures in 2016. The Cleveland Clinic-led Cardiovascular Specialty Network is the first national network of selected high-value cardiovascular care providers for the purpose of contracting with employers and payers.