Excessive mortality, incorrectly charged reimbursements – Zurich University Hospital is counted

Zurich University Hospital doesn’t make headlines, but for once they are of a positive nature. After the major crisis surrounding the heart surgeon Francesco Maisano, who no longer works at the university hospital, the cantonal parliament of Zurich advised to investigate the situation at the hospital. According to the report of the “Tages-Anzeiger”, a particular focus: the increase in heart surgery deaths from 2015 to 2019.

Professor Paul Vogt – who led the heart clinic together with renowned heart specialist Thierry Carrel after Maisano’s departure – presented the figures on Thursday. This shows that the mortality rate has fallen considerably.

For transplants from 20 to 3.4 percent, for a ruptured aorta from 25 to 7 percent, for wound infections from 7.3 to 0.2 percent and for heart valve infections from 18 to 3 percent. In standard operations, Vogt emphasizes at the presentation, mortality is “virtually eliminated.”

In addition to these figures, there is a previously unknown report available to the “Tages-Anzeiger”, which deals with the situation in the heart clinic and its intensive care units. Period: 2017 to 2019.

A chief physician visited the university hospital, conducted interviews, analyzed and drew a thoroughly critical conclusion. Among other things, the mortality rate after heart and aortic operations was higher than expected. In addition, the chief physician noted that there were “very large gaps in experience and knowledge” among the intensive care specialists during the period under review. Intensive care doctors have too little knowledge in the field of heart medicine and vice versa.

As a result, there were no personnel changes in the intensive care unit, but the university hospital confirmed to the “Tages-Anzeiger” that regular quality checks were carried out.

Another point of criticism came to light during the analysis at the university hospital. These are falsely charged medical costs for consultations with semi-private or private patients, some of which did not take place at all. The clinic manager has ordered that such conversations be systematically recorded for all private and semi-private patients; the associated protocols do not exist. The university hospital has now reimbursed 1.78 million Swiss francs to the health insurers, but the hospital has not yet requested a refund from the doctors who benefited at the time. The criminal case is closed.

Both clinic manager Stefan H. (he also left the university hospital in 2020) and heart surgeon Francesco Maisano declined to comment on the Tagesanzeiger.

The future will show whether the situation at the University Hospital of Zurich can improve in the long term after these studies. The cardiac surgery clinic now operates under the direction of Omer Dzemali, who took up his post two days ago. (first)