The database containing the 2009-10 Best Doctors in America was recently released with 214 physicians from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. These physicians account for 88 percent of those listed as Best Doctors in Forsyth County which is an 18 percent increase from the 2007-2008 list.

Best Doctors has built a database of more than 45,000 of the best physicians in America composed of peer surveys which simply asks: “If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer them?”

The survey takes place biennially and is completed by physicians and specialists complete ballots on other doctors in their own related specialties.

This group was founded in 1989 by physicians affiliated with Harvard Medical School whose goal was to provide greater access to dependable, high quality medical information and care for individuals with serious illness and injuries.

Best Doctors is a resource by patients, families and physicians seeking expert medical resources and guidance to treat illnesses and injuries of all kinds.

Of the doctors listed in both Forsyth and Guilford counties, 70 percent are from Wake Forest Baptist.  These include 49 pediatric specialists at Brenner Children’s Hospital which I spart of Wake Forest Baptist.

Over 1,400 North Carolina physicians are listed on the 2009-2010 Best Doctors list.

Thomas E. Sibert, M.D., president of Wake Forest University Physicians and chief medical officer of Wake Forest Baptist said, “We are extremely proud of the caliber of our physicians.”

“The fact that the number of our physicians listed in this prestigious database continues to grow only emphasizes our commitment to excellence,” he said.

In addition to the Top Doctors Award, different departments in Wake Forest’s Baptist Hospital also received awards, certificates and accreditations for excellence.

The Emergency Department won a Thomson Reuters 2009 Healthcare Advantage Award for performance efficiency by reducing length of stay and the number of patient “walk-outs” by half.

The Heart Center has earned the highest possible recognition for quality cardiac surgery from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS).  It was also awarded the American College of Cardiology Foundation’s NCDR ACTION Registry- GWTG Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2009.

The Gold Performance award recognizes commitment and success for implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients during the past year.

The award signifies that Wake Forest Baptist’s Heart Center has reached an aggressive goal of treating coronary artery disease patients with core standard levels of care outlined by the guidelines and recommendations of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA).

The Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest Baptist is one of only 40 centers in the nation designated as comprehensive by the National Cancer Institute, indicating the “gold standard” for patient care, research and education.

The Stroke Center has been awarded Advanced Certification Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers, indicating compliance with best practices.

Brenner Children’s Hospital operates a Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) delivering the highest levels of neonatal care found in the region.

Nurses at Wake Forest Baptist earned one of the first 14 Magnet Nurse Awards in the United States in 1999, the first in the Carolinas. The American Nurses Credentialing Center established this prestigious award to recognize nursing excellence.

The Joint Replacement Program at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has been designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip  Replacement by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA).

The designation for hip and knee replacement centers was established in 2010 and, according to the BCBSA, is awarded to “facilities that have demonstrated an objective commitment to quality care, resulting in better overall outcomes for patients who undergo knee and hip replacement procedures.”

Wake Forest Baptist also has Blue Distinction designations for cardiac care, bariatric surgery, and for 12 complex and rare cancers.

Overall, this award shows the excellence of local doctors and the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s performance in providing top quality health care.