Hospital experience predicts outcomes after high-risk geriatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Geriatric patients require specialized perioperative care, yet the impact of geriatric surgery proportion (a measure of experience) and geriatric surgery volume, on clinical outcomes is unknown. This study analyzes the association between proportion and volume and clinical outcomes after high-risk geriatric surgery. METHODS: Using the 2014 National Inpatient Sample, hospital encounters for older adults (≥65 years) undergoing high-risk geriatric surgery were identified. Geriatric surgery volume was defined as a hospitals annual volume of geriatric patients undergoing high-risk geriatric surgery. Geriatric surgery proportion was calculated as volume divided by the sum of high-risk surgeries in all ages. Hierarchical multivariable regression models identified predictors of inpatient mortality, postoperative length of stay, and discharge to nursing facility. RESULTS: There were an estimated 514,950 hospital encounters for older adults undergoing high-risk geriatric surgery from 3,115 hospitals. Mean proportion was 0.53 ± 0.19; median volume was 60 cases per year, ranging from 5 to 3,235. After adjustment, comparing the 90th to 10th percentiles, higher proportion was associated with decreased mortality (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 0.81 [0.73-0.88]; P < .001) and shorter postoperative length of stay (-4.44% (-5.49 to -3.39%); P < .0001). Higher volume was not associated with mortality but was associated with longer length of stay (7.76% [6.75-8.77%]; P < .0001) and decreased discharge to nursing facility (0.87 [0.79-0.95]; P= .003). CONCLUSION: Treatment of geriatric patients at hospitals with the highest proportion of high-risk geriatric surgery, or the most experience, is associated with improved outcomes. High-proportion hospitals should be examined to understand the mechanisms by which better quality geriatric surgical care is achieved, while lower-proportion hospitals may be targets for quality improvement efforts

National Estimates of Genetic Testing in Women With a History of Breast or Ovarian Cancer

Purpose In the United States, 3.8 million women have a history of breast (BC) or ovarian cancer (OC). Up to 15% of cases are attributable to heritable mutations, which, if identified, provide critical knowledge for treatment and preventive care. It is unknown how many patients who are at high risk for these mutations have not been tested and how rates vary by risk criteria. Methods We used pooled cross-sectional data from three Cancer Control Modules (2005, 2010, 2015) of the National Health Interview Survey, a national in-person household interview survey. Eligible patients were adult females with a history of BC and/or OC meeting select 2017 National Comprehensive Cancer Network eligibility criteria on the basis of age of diagnosis and family history. Outcomes included the proportion of individuals reporting a history of discussing genetic testing with a health professional, being advised to undergo genetic testing, or undergoing genetic testing for BC or OC. Results Of 47,218 women, 2.7% had a BC history and 0.4% had an OC history. For BC, 35.6% met one or more select eligibility criteria; of those, 29.0% discussed, 20.2% were advised to undergo, and 15.3% underwent genetic testing. Testing rates for individual eligibility criteria ranged from 6.2% (relative with OC) to 18.2% (diagnosis ≤ 45 years of age). For OC, 15.1% discussed, 13.1% were advised to undergo, and 10.5% underwent testing. Using only four BC eligibility criteria and all patients with OC, an estimated 1.2 to 1.3 million individuals failed to receive testing. Conclusion Fewer than one in five individuals with a history of BC or OC meeting select National Cancer Comprehensive Network criteria have undergone genetic testing. Most have never discussed testing with a health care provider. Large national efforts are warranted to address this unmet need

Access to Posthospitalization Acute Care Facilities is Associated with Payer Status for Open Abdominal Aortic Repair and Open Lower Extremity Revascularization in the Vascular Quality Initiative

BackgroundUninsured patients may not have access to postacute care facilities that play an important role in clinical recovery, and functional outcomes after vascular surgery. We sought to determine whether discharge disposition is associated with insurance status.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed data from the Vascular Quality Initiative® for patients who underwent open abdominal aortic repair, infrainguinal bypass, or suprainguinal bypass (SB) between January 2012 and July 2015. Mixed-effects logistic regression analysis with clustering at the surgeon and facility level was used to calculate 95% confidence intervals for discharge disposition to home, skilled nursing facility (SNF) or rehabilitation (Rehab) facility by payer status (Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial, Military/Veterans Affairs, Non-US Insurance, or Self-pay), with adjustment for patient, operative, and postoperative characteristics.ResultsThe study cohort comprised 18,478 procedures (open abdominal aortic repair = 2,817; infrainguinal bypass = 11,572; suprainguinal bypass = 4,089) after we excluded procedures with missing data and in-hospital deaths. Twenty-four percent of the cohort was discharged to an SNF or Rehab site. On univariate analysis, the odds ratio (OR) of discharge home was 4.38 (95% CI: 3.33-5.77) for self-pay as compared to Medicare. On mixed-effects analysis, the adjusted odds of discharge home for self-pay as compared to Medicare remained high (OR = 3.09; 95% CI: 2.23-4.26), after adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, preoperative ambulatory status, number of comorbidities, case urgency, total operative time, presence of a postoperative complication, procedure type, and length of stay. Adjusted odds for discharge to SNF (OR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.15-0.46) and Rehab (OR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.35-0.72) were lowest for self-pay status.ConclusionsAccess to postacute care facilities is associated with insurance status. Self-pay (uninsured) patients are less likely to have access to discharge services that may aid clinical recovery, and functional outcomes after major vascular surgery

Variation in Intraoperative and Postoperative Utilization for 3 Common General Surgery Procedures.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to understand variation in intraoperative and postoperative utilization for common general surgery procedures.Summary background dataReducing surgical costs is paramount to the viability of hospitals.MethodsRetrospective analysis of electronic health record data for 7762 operations from 2 health systems. Adult patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, appendectomy, and inguinal/femoral hernia repair between November 1, 2013 and November 30, 2017 were reviewed for 3 utilization measures: intraoperative disposable supply costs, procedure time, and postoperative length of stay (LOS). Crossed hierarchical regression models were fit to understand case-mixed adjusted variation in utilization across surgeons and locations and to rank surgeons.ResultsThe number of surgeons performing each type of operation ranged from 20 to 63. The variation explained by surgeons ranged from 8.9% to 38.2% for supply costs, from 15.1% to 54.6% for procedure time, and from 1.3% to 7.0% for postoperative LOS. The variation explained by location ranged from 12.1% to 26.3% for supply costs, from 0.2% to 2.5% for procedure time, and from 0.0% to 31.8% for postoperative LOS. There was a positive correlation (ρ = 0.49, P = 0.03) between surgeons' higher supply costs and longer procedure times for hernia repair, but there was no correlation between other utilization measures for hernia repair and no correlation between any of the utilization measures for laparoscopic appendectomy or cholecystectomy.ConclusionsSurgeons are significant drivers of variation in surgical supply costs and procedure time, but much less so for postoperative LOS. Intraoperative and postoperative utilization profiles can be generated for individual surgeons and may be an important tool for reducing surgical costs

Age stratified, perioperative, and one-year mortality after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: A statewide experience

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine the in-hospital, 30-day, and 365-day mortality for the open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), when stratified by age, in the general population. Age stratification could provide clinicians with information more applicable to an individual patient than overall mortality figures.MethodsIn a retrospective analysis, data were obtained from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) for the years 1995 to 1999. Out-of-hospital mortality was determined via linkage to the state death registry. All patients undergoing AAA repair as coded by International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) procedure code 38.44 and diagnosis codes 441.4 (intact) and 441.3/441.5 (ruptured) in California were identified. Patients <50 years of age were excluded. We determined in-hospital, 30-day, and 365-day mortality, and stratified our findings by patient age. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine predictors of mortality in the intact and ruptured AAA cohorts.ResultsWe identified 12,406 patients (9,778 intact, 2,628 ruptured). Mean patient age was 72.4 ± 7.2 years (intact) and 73.9 ± 8.2 (ruptured). Men comprised 80.9% of patients, and 90.8% of patients were white. Overall, intact AAA patient mortality was 3.8% in-hospital, 4% at 30 days, and 8.5% at 365 days. There was a steep increase in mortality with increasing age, such that 365-day mortality increased from 2.9% for patients 51 to 60 years old to 15% for patients 81 to 90 years old. Mortality from day 31 to 365 was greater than both in-hospital and 30-day mortality for all but the youngest intact AAA patients. Perioperative (in-hospital and 30-day) mortality for ruptured cases was 45%, and mortality at 1 year was 54%.ConclusionsThere is continued mortality after the open repair of AAAs during postoperative days 31 to 365 that, for many patients, is greater than the perioperative death rate. This mortality increases dramatically with age for both intact and ruptured AAA repair

A Comparison of Payments to a For-profit Dialysis Firm From Government and Commercial Insurers.

This study assesses differences in payments from government and commercial insurers to dialysis clinics using data from a single for-profit organization