High-risk surgery among Medicare beneficiaries living in health professional shortage areas.

Autor: Mullens CL; Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA., Lussiez A; Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.; Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA., Scott JW; Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.; Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA., Kunnath N; Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA., Dimick JB; Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.; Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA., Ibrahim AM; Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.; Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.; Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association [J Rural Health] 2023 Sep; Vol. 39 (4), pp. 824-832. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Feb 10.
DOI: 10.1111/jrh.12748
Abstrakt: Purpose: Americans who reside in health professional shortage areas currently have less than half of the needed physician workforce. While the shortage designation has been associated with poor outcomes for chronic medical conditions, far less is known about outcomes after high-risk surgical procedures.
Methods: We performed a retrospective review of Medicare beneficiaries living in health professional shortage areas and nonshortage areas who underwent abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, coronary artery bypass graft, esophagectomy, liver resection, pancreatectomy, or rectal resection between 2014 and 2018. Risk-adjusted multivariable logistic regression was used to determine whether rates of postoperative complications and 30-day mortality differed between patient cohorts. Beneficiary and hospital ZIP codes were used to quantify travel time to obtain care.
Findings: Compared with patients living in nonshortage areas, patients living in health professional shortage areas traveled longer (median 60.0 vs 28.0 minutes, P<.001). There were no differences in risk-adjusted rates of complications (28.5% vs 28.6%, OR = 1.00, 95% CI 1.00-1.00, P = .59) and small differences in rates of 30-day mortality (4.2% vs 4.4%, OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.95-0.95, P<.001) between beneficiaries living in shortage areas versus those not in shortage areas, respectively.
Conclusions: Patients living in health professional shortage area undergoing high-risk surgery traveled more than 2 times longer for their care to obtain similar outcomes. While reassuring for clinical outcomes, additional efforts may be needed to mitigate the travel burden experienced by shortage area patients.
(© 2023 National Rural Health Association.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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