California health authorities will release the results of a study showing the rate of death of bypass surgery patients in California hospitals, including the names of some of the surgeons with the poorest patient survival records.

Doctors and hospitals have argued that the study does not adequately consider the difficulty of each individual case, and may lead to surgeons turning away patients who have lesschance of survival.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle "the state-mandated survey gave the worst ratings to some hospitals that have been regarded as among the best in the business" including UCSF Medical Center and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Supporters of the study say that outcome reports are important when consumes make healthcare decisions.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle (7/13/2007)