Experience Seeking Better Outcomes in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting : Lessons From Past

Are we delivering the safest and most effective care? How best can we learn from our experience? For healthcare professionals who ask these questions, the article by Guru and colleagues in this issue of Circulation is essential reading.1 These Canadian investigators performed an implicit review and retrospective analysis of 347 randomly selected inhospital deaths after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery and determined that approximately one third might have been prevented by better care. The study offers many important lessons with implications far beyond cardiac surgery.