If you need a heart bypass operation in California, you can now check your doctor's report card before going under the knife. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Developmen published a report (available at the office's website) that rates 302 surgeons who performed coronary bypass surgeries at 121 hospitals during 2003 and 2004.

The average death rate was 3.08% of more than 40 thousand bypass surgeries (1 in 30) over the 2 year period. The surgeons' ratings factored in degree of difficulty issues like prior heart surgeries, related medical conditions, age, and gender.

This is part of the transparancy movement to give health care shoppers better information to make informed decisions.