Nationwide distribution of cardiovascular practice in Japan - results of Japanese circulation society 2010 annual survey.

BACKGROUND: The geographic distribution of cardiovascular (CV) health-care services has not been assessed systematically. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data of the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS) annual survey were provided to the JCS working group with the permission of the JCS Scientific Committee. The status of CV practice in 2010 was then assessed in 47 prefectures retrospectively, along with national census and gross domestic product (GDP) data. The surveyed indices included resources (hospitals, beds and cardiologists), burden (number of inpatients), and outcome (CV mortality and autopsy) in each prefecture, which correlated well with respective populations or GDP. Inequality of geographic distribution was evident for pediatrics among the 47 prefectures, according to Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient or the maximum/minimum ratio for each index. According to the Gini coefficients, only the number of inpatients (medical or acute myocardial infarction) and beds for the total number of general hospitals or the hospitals surveyed in the present JCS study were lower than expected with regard to GDP. CONCLUSIONS: Geographic disparity of CV resources or burden was larger in pediatrics than in CV medicine or surgery. Improvement of equality in CV practice with regard to appropriateness and quality are the coming challenges for the JCS.