[HSF] Not all patients are stupid

[Tea Acuff]

This article was posted about a need for surgery coverage for PCI. A reader posted the following comment. Maybe we should just start talking truth to the patients instead of explaining how smart we are. The idea expressed is somewhat counter to the argument that all cases should be referred to experts.
tea 

Small hospitals push to do heart work
Associated Press, by Marilynn Marchione 
Original Article: 
www. news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080329/ap_on_he_me/angioplasty_safety 

CHICAGO - Is it safe to have your arteries unclogged at a hospital that lacks heart surgeons who can operate if something goes wrong? Many states ban this except in emergencies like heart attacks. But more small hospitals are trying it in non-urgent cases, and the largest study ever done of this, released on Saturday, suggests it may not be as risky as has been feared. If confirmed by other ongoing studies, it could change policies in many states. 
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Reply  ...
Medicare did a study comparing the outcomes of the first 60 times a surgeon did an operation to the results obtained thereafter. They did this for many surgeons and many operations. They concluded that no surgeon should ever do the first 60 of anything.