Penetration, Completeness, and Representativeness of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database

Using CMS CABG data as a denominator, the investigators examined the penetration, completeness, and representativeness of the STS database with respect to the CMS database.  The investigators found that, in 2012–the most recent year analyzed–center-level penetration was 90% and patient-level penetration was 94%.   These penetrations have increased substantially since 2000.  By linking the two databases, a robust synergy may be created that will provide a powerful tool for analyzing long-term outcomes and costs for cardiothoracic surgery.