Association of Physician Certification and Outcomes Among Patients Receiving an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator.

The article presents research assessing the association of implanting physician certification with outcomes following implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) procedures. The design and setting of the study involving cases submitted to the ICD Registry and analysis of certification status of the implanting physicians into categories of electrophysiologists, nonelectrophysiologists, cardiologists, and thoracic surgeons is explained. The medical outcomes measured were in-hospital procedural complication rates and the likelihood of receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-D). Results indicate implantation by nonelectrophysiologists is associated with a higher risk of complications and a lower rate of CRT-D.