Disparities in Enrollment in Medicare Advantage Plans With Dental Benefits.

This cross-sectional study evaluates the association of Medicare beneficiaries' sociodemographic characteristics with having Medicare Advantage plans that cover oral health services.

Claims analysis of Medicare fee-for-service oral health care encounters, from 2019 through 2021.

BACKGROUND: Many qualifying people rely on Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) for their health care insurance, although it rarely provides coverage for oral health care services. The objective of this study was to gain insights into oral health care that is being provided by all health care provider types for Medicare FFS beneficiaries. METHODS: The authors used the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Virtual Data Research Center to query 100% of Medicare FFS claims from 2019 through 2021 and identify all encounters for which there was either an oral health-related International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis code or a CDT 2019-2021: Current Dental Terminology code recorded on the claim. The authors used a cross-sectional study design and calculated descriptive statistics to describe characteristics of identified oral health care encounters. The encounter level was the unit of analysis. RESULTS: A total of 2,098,056 oral health care encounters were identified through Medicare FFS claims during the study observation period, with a lower volume observed after 2019. Nearly 98% of encounters were related to those in which oral health diagnoses were recorded (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification code on claim), and non-oral health care providers primarily submitted these claims. Most encounters included beneficiaries with chronic conditions, and a roughly equal proportion included those qualifying for Medicare on the basis of age and disability. CONCLUSIONS: Previously unreported characteristics of oral health care encounters were identified through administrative claims, providing insights into oral health care being provided to a subset of Medicare FFS beneficiaries. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Future research and policies should focus on strengthening medical-dental integration models and expanding access to oral health care for the Medicare FFS population.

Factors Associated With Overuse of Health Care Within US Health Systems: A Cross-sectional Analysis of Medicare Beneficiaries From 2016 to 2018.

Importance: Overuse of health care is a pervasive threat to patients that requires measurement to inform the development of interventions. Objective: To measure low-value health care use within health systems in the US and explore features of the health systems associated with low-value care delivery. Design Setting and Participants: In this cross-sectional analysis, we identified occurrences of 17 low-value services in 3745 hospitals and affiliated outpatient sites. Hospitals were linked to 676 health systems in the US using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Compendium of Health Systems. The participants were 100% of Medicare beneficiaries with claims from 2016 to 2018. Exposures: We identified occurrences of 17 low-value services in 3839 hospitals and affiliated outpatient sites. Main Outcomes and Measures: Hospitals were linked to health systems using AHRQ's Compendium of Health Systems. Between March and August 2021, we modeled overuse occurrences with a negative binomial regression model including the year-quarter, procedure indicator, and a health system indicator. The model included random effects for hospital and beneficiary age, sex, and comorbidity count specific to each indicator, hospital, and quarter. The beta coefficients associated with the health system term, normalized, reflect the tendency of that system to use low-value services relative to all other systems. With ordinary least squares regression, we explored health system characteristics associated with the Overuse Index (OI), expressed as a standard deviation where the mean across all health systems is 0. Results: There were 676 unique health systems assessed in our study that included from 1 to 163 hospitals (median of 2). The mean age of eligible beneficiaries was 75.5 years and 76% were women. Relative to the lowest tertile, health systems in the upper tertile of medical groups count and bed count had an OI that was higher by 0.38 standard deviations (SD) and 0.44 SD, respectively. Health systems that were primarily investor owned had an OI that was 0.56 SD higher than those that were not investor owned. Relative to the lowest tertile, health systems in the upper tertile of primary care physicians, upper tertile of teaching intensity, and upper quartile of uncompensated care had an OI that was lower by 0.59 SD, 0.45 SD, and 0.47 SD, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study of US health systems, higher amounts of overuse among health systems were associated with investor ownership and fewer primary care physicians. The OI is a valuable tool for identifying potentially modifiable drivers of overuse and is adaptable to other levels of investigation, such as the state or region, which might be affected by local policies affecting payment or system consolidation.

Risk factors for infections after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP): a retrospective cohort analysis of US Medicare Fee-For-Service claims, 2015-2021.

OBJECTIVE: Contaminated reprocessed duodenoscopes pose a serious threat to patients in the endoscopy unit. Despite manufacturer changes to reprocessing guidelines, 20% of reprocessed duodenoscopes meet criteria for quarantine-level contamination based on microbiological or ATP testing. We aimed to examine risk factors for postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) infection. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING: US Medicare Fee-For-Service claims (2015-2021) and all-payer data (2017). PARTICIPANTS: In the Medicare data, 823 575 ERCP procedures were included. The all-payer five-state data, 16 609 procedures were included. INTERVENTIONS: ERCP was identified by Current Procedural Terminology and International Classification of Disease (ICD) procedure codes. We identified inpatient infections using ICD diagnosis codes. OUTCOME MEASURES: A logistic regression model predicted risk factors for infections occurring within 7-day and 30-day periods following ERCP. 7-day and 30-day all-cause hospitalisations and post-ERCP pancreatitis were also examined. RESULTS: Post-ERCP infection occurred within 3.5% of 7-day and 7.7% of 30-day periods in Medicare. Disposable duodenoscopes were billed in 711 procedures, with 1.4% (n=10, 7-day) and 3.5% (n=25, 30-day) post-ERCP infections. Urgent ERCPs were the strongest risk factor for infections in the 7-day period (OR 3.3, 95% CI 3.2 to 3.4). Chronic conditions, sex (male), age (older) and race (non-white) were also risk factors. In the all-payer five-state data, fewer infections (2.4%, 7 days) were observed. No difference arose between Medicare and other payers for 7-day period infections (OR 1.0, 95% CI 0.7 to 1.3). CONCLUSIONS: Urgent ERCPs, patient chronic conditions and patient demographics are post-ERCP infection risk factors. Patients with infection risk factors should be targeted for specialised infection control prevention measures, including disposable duodenoscopes.

A micro-costing analysis of outpatient flexible cystoscopy: implications for adoption of single-use flexible cystoscopes.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the total cost of outpatient flexible cystoscopy associated with reusable device purchase, maintenance, and reprocessing, and to assess potential cost benefits of single-use flexible cystoscopes. METHODS: Cost data regarding the purchasing, maintaining, and reprocessing of reusable flexible cystoscopes were collected using a micro-costing approach at a high-volume outpatient urology clinic. We estimated the costs to facilities with a range of annual procedure volumes (1000-3000) performed with a fleet of cystoscopes ranging from 10 to 25. We also compared the total cost per double-J ureteral stent removal procedure performed using single-use flexible cystoscopes versus reusable devices. RESULTS: The cost associated with reusable flexible cystoscopes ranged from $105 to $224 per procedure depending on the annual procedure volume and cystoscopes available. As a practice became more efficient by increasing the ratio of procedures performed to cystoscopes in the fleet, the proportion of the total cost due to cystoscope reprocessing increased from 22 to 46%. For ureteral stent removal procedures, the total cost per procedure using reusable cystoscopes (range $165-$1469) was higher than that using single-use devices ($244-$420), unless the annual procedure volume was sufficiently high relative to the number of reusable cystoscopes in the fleet (≥ 350 for a practice with ten reusable cystoscopes, ≥ 700 for one with 20 devices). CONCLUSION: The cost of reprocessing reusable cystoscopes represents a large fraction of the total cost per procedure, especially for high-volume facilities. It may be economical to adopt single-use cystoscopes specifically for stent removal procedures, especially for lower-volume facilities.

Underutilization of Needle Biopsy Before Breast Surgery: A Measure of Low-Value Care.

BACKGROUND: Breast core needle biopsy (CNB) can obviate the need for breast surgery in patients with an unknown breast lesion; however, variation in compliance with this guideline may represent a disparity in health care and a surrogate measure of unnecessary surgery. We evaluated variation in breast CNB rates prior to initial breast cancer surgery. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis using Medicare claims from 2015 to 2017 to evaluate the proportion of patients who received a CNB within 6 months prior to initial breast cancer surgery. Outlier practice pattern was defined as a preoperative CNB rate ≤ 70%. Logistic regression was used to evaluate surgeon characteristics associated with outlier practice pattern. RESULTS: We identified 108,935 female patients who underwent initial breast cancer surgery performed by 3229 surgeons from July 2015 to June 2017. The mean CNB rate was 86.7%. A total of 7.7% of surgeons had a CNB performed prior to initial breast surgery ≤ 70% of the time, and 2.0% had a CNB performed ≤ 50% of the time. Outlier breast surgeons were associated with practicing in a micropolitan area (odds ratio [OR] 1.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29-2.73), in the South (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.20-2.84) or West region (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.11-2.86), > 20 years in practice (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.09-2.11), and low breast cancer surgery volume (< 30 cases in the study period; OR 4.03, 95% CI 2.75-5.90). CONCLUSIONS: Marked variation exists in whether a breast core biopsy is performed prior to initial breast surgery, which may represent unnecessary surgery on individual patients. Providing surgeon-specific feedback on guideline compliance may reduce unwarranted variation.

Optimizing opioid prescribing and pain treatment for surgery: Review and conceptual framework.

PURPOSE: Millions of Americans who undergo surgical procedures receive opioid prescriptions as they return home. While some derive great benefit from these medicines, others experience adverse events, convert to chronic opioid use, or have unused medicines that serve as a reservoir for potential nonmedical use. Our aim was to investigate concepts and methods relevant to optimal opioid prescribing and pain treatment in the perioperative period. METHODS: We reviewed existing literature for trials on factors that influence opioid prescribing and optimization of pain treatment for surgical procedures and generated a conceptual framework to guide future quality, safety, and research efforts. RESULTS: Opioid prescribing and pain treatment after discharge from surgery broadly consist of 3 key interacting perspectives, including those of the patient, the perioperative team, and, serving in an essential role for all patients, the pharmacist. Systems-based factors, ranging from the organizational environment's ability to provide multimodal analgesia and participation in enhanced recovery after surgery programs to other healthcare system and macro-level trends, shape these interactions and influence opioid-related safety outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The severity and persistence of the opioid crisis underscore the urgent need for interventions to improve postoperative prescription opioid use in the United States. Such interventions are likely to be most effective, with the fewest unintended consequences, if based on sound evidence and built on multidisciplinary efforts that include pharmacists, nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and the patient. Future studies have the potential to identify the optimal amount to prescribe, improve patient-focused safety and quality outcomes, and help curb the oversupply of opioids that contributes to the most pressing public health crisis of our time.

Same-Day vs Different-Day Elective Upper and Lower Endoscopic Procedures by Setting.

Importance: Performing elective upper and lower endoscopic procedures on the same day is a patient-centered and less costly approach than a 2-stage approach performed on different days, when clinically appropriate. Whether this practice pattern varies based on practice setting has not been studied. Objectives: To estimate the rate of different-day upper and lower endoscopic procedures in 3 types of outpatient settings and investigate the factors associated with the performance of these procedures on different days. Design, Setting, and Participants: A retrospective analysis was conducted of Medicare claims between January 1, 2011, and June 30, 2018, for Medicare beneficiaries who underwent a pair of upper and lower endoscopic procedures performed within 90 days of each other at hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs), freestanding ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and physician offices. Main Outcomes and Measures: Undergoing an upper and a lower endoscopic procedure on different days, adjusted for patient characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, residence location and region, comorbidity, and procedure indication) and physician characteristics (sex, years in practice, procedure volume, and primary specialty). Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% CIs were calculated. Results: A total of 4 028 587 procedure pairs were identified, of which 52.5% were performed in HOPDs, 43.3% in ASCs, and 4.2% in physician offices. The rate of different-day procedures was 13.6% in HOPDs, 22.2% in ASCs, and 47.7% in physician offices. For the 7564 physicians who practiced at both HOPDs and ASCs, their different-day procedure rate changed from 14.1% at HOPDs to 19.4% at ASCs. For the 993 physicians who practiced at both HOPDs and physician offices, their different-day procedure rate changed from 15.8% at HOPDs to 37.4% at physician offices. Patients were more likely to undergo different-day procedures at physician offices and ASCs compared with HOPDs, even after adjusting for patient and physician characteristics (physician office vs HOPD: aOR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.85-2.20; ASC vs HOPD: aOR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.23-1.32). Older age (85-94 years vs 65-74 years: aOR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.08-1.11; 95 years or older vs 65-74 years: aOR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03-1.26), black and Hispanic race/ethnicity (black: aOR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.12-1.17; Hispanic: aOR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.10-1.14), and residing in the Northeast region (adjusted OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.28-1.36) were risk factors for undergoing different-day procedures. Micropolitan location (aOR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96) and rural location (aOR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.89-0.93), more comorbidities (≥5: aOR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.74-0.76), physician's fewer years in practice (aOR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.81-0.87), physician's higher procedure volume (aOR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.62-0.68), and physician's specialty of general surgery (aOR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.80-0.91) were protective factors. Conclusions and Relevance: Physician offices and ASCs had much higher different-day procedure rates compared with HOPDs. This disparity may represent an opportunity for quality improvement and financial savings for common endoscopic procedures.

Burden of gastrointestinal and liver diseases in India, 1990-2016.

There is no comprehensive report on the burden of gastrointestinal (GI) and liver diseases in India. In this study, we estimated the age-standardized prevalence, mortality, and disability adjusted life years (DALY) rates of GI and liver diseases in India from 1990 to 2016 using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, which systematically reviews literature and reports for international disease burden trends. Despite a decrease in the overall burden from GI infectious disorders since 1990, they still accounted for the majority of DALYs in 2016. Among noncommunicable disorders (NCDs), there were increases in the prevalence and mortality rates for pancreatitis, liver cancer, paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction, gallbladder and biliary tract cancer, vascular intestinal disorders, colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease. Prevalence and mortality rates decreased for peptic ulcer disease, hernias, appendicitis, and stomach and esophageal cancer. For gastritis and duodenitis, cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, and gallbladder and biliary tract diseases, there was an increase in prevalence but a decrease in mortality while the opposite was true for pancreatic cancer (decreased prevalence, increased mortality). Indian gastroenterologists and hepatologists must continue to attend to the large majority of patients with infectious diseases while also managing the increasing number of GI and liver diseases, noncommunicable nonmalignant and malignant.

Variation in Emergency Department vs Internal Medicine Excess Charges in the United States.

Importance: Uninsured and insured but out-of-network emergency department (ED) patients are often billed hospital chargemaster prices, which exceed amounts typically paid by insurers. Objective: To examine the variation in excess charges for services provided by emergency medicine and internal medicine physicians. Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective analysis was conducted of professional fee payment claims made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for all services provided to Medicare Part B fee-for-service beneficiaries in calendar year 2013. Data analysis was conducted from January 1 to July 31, 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures: Markup ratios for ED and internal medicine professional services, defined as the charges submitted by the hospital divided by the Medicare allowable amount. Results: Our analysis included 12 337 emergency medicine physicians from 2707 hospitals and 57 607 internal medicine physicians from 3669 hospitals in all 50 states. Services provided by emergency medicine physicians had an overall markup ratio of 4.4 (340% excess charges), which was greater than the markup ratio of 2.1 (110% excess charges) for all services performed by internal medicine physicians. Markup ratios for all ED services ranged by hospital from 1.0 to 12.6 (median, 4.2; interquartile range [IQR], 3.3-5.8); markup ratios for all internal medicine services ranged by hospital from 1.0 to 14.1 (median, 2.0; IQR, 1.7-2.5). The median markup ratio by hospital for ED evaluation and management procedure codes varied between 4.0 and 5.0. Among the most common ED services, laceration repair had the highest median markup ratio (7.0); emergency medicine physician review of a head computed tomographic scan had the greatest interhospital variation (range, 1.6-27.7). Across hospitals, markups in the ED were often substantially higher than those in the internal medicine department for the same services. Higher ED markup ratios were associated with hospital for-profit ownership (median, 5.7; IQR, 4.0-7.1), a greater percentage of uninsured patients seen (median, 5.0; IQR, 3.5-6.7 for ≥20% uninsured), and location (median, 5.3; IQR, 3.8-6.8 for the southeastern United States). Conclusions and Relevance: Across hospitals, there is wide variation in excess charges on ED services, which are often priced higher than internal medicine services. Our results inform policy efforts to protect uninsured and out-of-network patients from highly variable pricing.

Outlier Practice Patterns in Mohs Micrographic Surgery: Defining the Problem and a Proposed Solution.

Importance: Outlier physician practices in health care can represent a significant burden to patients and the health system. Objective: To study outlier physician practices in Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) and the associated factors. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective analysis of publicly available Medicare Part B claims data from January 2012 to December 2014 includes all physicians who received Medicare payments for MMS from any practice performing MMS on the head and neck, genitalia, hands, and feet region of Medicare Part B patients. Main Outcomes and Measures: Characteristics of outlier physicians, defined as those whose mean number of stages for MMS was 2 standard deviations greater than the mean number for all physicians billing MMS. Logistic regression was used to study the physician characteristics associated with outlier status. Results: Our analysis included 2305 individual billing physicians performing MMS. The mean number of stages per MMS case for all physicians practicing from January 2012 to December 2014 was 1.74, the median was 1.69, and the range was 1.09 to 4.11. Overall, 137 physicians who perform Mohs surgery were greater than 2 standard deviations above the mean (2 standard deviations above the mean = 2.41 stages per case) in at least 1 of the 3 examined years, and 49 physicians (35.8%) were persistent high outliers in all 3 years. Persistent high outlier status was associated with performing Mohs surgery in a solo practice (odds ratio, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.25-4.35). Volume of cases per year, practice experience, and geographic location were not associated with persistent high outlier status. Conclusions and Relevance: Marked variation exists in the number of stages per case for MMS for head and neck, genitalia, hands, and feet skin cancers, which may represent an additional financial burden and unnecessary surgery on individual patients. Providing feedback to physicians may reduce unwarranted variation on this metric of quality.

Patient, surgeon, and hospital disparities associated with benign hysterectomy approach and perioperative complications.

BACKGROUND: Hysterectomy is among the most common major surgical procedures performed in women. Approximately 450,000 hysterectomy procedures are performed each year in the United States for benign indications. However, little is known regarding contemporary US hysterectomy trends for women with benign disease with respect to operative technique and perioperative complications, and the association between these 2 factors with patient, surgeon, and hospital characteristics. OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe contemporary hysterectomy trends and explore associations between patient, surgeon, and hospital characteristics with surgical approach and perioperative complications. STUDY DESIGN: Hysterectomies performed for benign indications by general gynecologists from July 2012 through September 2014 were analyzed in the all-payer Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission database. We excluded hysterectomies performed by gynecologic oncologists, reproductive endocrinologists, and female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgeons. We included both open hysterectomies and those performed by minimally invasive surgery, which included vaginal hysterectomies. Perioperative complications were defined using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety indicators. Surgeon hysterectomy volume during the 2-year study period was analyzed (0-5 cases annually = very low, 6-10 = low, 11-20 = medium, and ≥21 = high). We utilized logistic regression and negative binomial regression to identify patient, surgeon, and hospital characteristics associated with minimally invasive surgery utilization and perioperative complications, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 5660 hospitalizations were identified during the study period. Most patients (61.5%) had an open hysterectomy; 38.5% underwent a minimally invasive surgery procedure (25.1% robotic, 46.6% laparoscopic, 28.3% vaginal). Most surgeons (68.2%) were very low- or low-volume surgeons. Factors associated with a lower likelihood of undergoing minimally invasive surgery included older patient age (reference 45-64 years; 20-44 years: adjusted odds ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.28), black race (reference white; adjusted odds ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.63-0.78), Hispanic ethnicity (adjusted odds ratio, 0.62; 95% confidence interval, 0.48-0.80), smaller hospital (reference large; small: adjusted odds ratio, 0.26; 95% confidence interval, 0.15-0.45; medium: adjusted odds ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.79-0.96), medium hospital hysterectomy volume (reference ≥200 hysterectomies; 100-200: adjusted odds ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.71-0.87), and medium vs high surgeon volume (reference high; medium: adjusted odds ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.78-0.97). Complications occurred in 25.8% of open and 8.2% of minimally invasive hysterectomies (P < .0001). Minimally invasive hysterectomy (adjusted odds ratio, 0.22; 95% confidence interval, 0.17-0.27) and large hysterectomy volume hospitals (reference ≥200 hysterectomies; 1-100: adjusted odds ratio, 2.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.60-3.20; 101-200: adjusted odds ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.23-2.16) were associated with fewer complications, while patient payer, including Medicare (reference private; adjusted odds ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.33-2.61), Medicaid (adjusted odds ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.30-2.04), and self-pay status (adjusted odds ratio, 2.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.40-4.12), and very-low and low surgeon hysterectomy volume (reference ≥21 cases; 1-5 cases: adjusted odds ratio, 1.73; 95% confidence interval, 1.22-2.47; 6-10 cases: adjusted odds ratio, 1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-2.23) were associated with perioperative complications. CONCLUSION: Use of minimally invasive hysterectomy for benign indications remains variable, with most patients undergoing open, more morbid procedures. Older and black patients and smaller hospitals are associated with open hysterectomy. Patient race and payer status, hysterectomy approach, and surgeon volume were associated with perioperative complications. Hysterectomies performed for benign indications by high-volume surgeons or by minimally invasive techniques may represent an opportunity to reduce preventable harm.

Utilization of Minimally Invasive Surgery in Endometrial Cancer Care: A Quality and Cost Disparity.

OBJECTIVE: To describe case mix-adjusted hospital level utilization of minimally invasive surgery for hysterectomy in the treatment of early-stage endometrial cancer. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed the proportion of patients who had a minimally invasive compared with open hysterectomy for nonmetastatic endometrial cancer using the U.S. Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, 2007-2011. Hospitals were stratified by endometrial cancer case volumes (low=less than 10; medium=11-30; high=greater than 30 cases). Hierarchical logistic regression models were used to evaluate hospital and patient variables associated with minimally invasive utilization, complications, and costs. RESULTS: Overall, 32,560 patients were identified; 33.6% underwent a minimally invasive hysterectomy with an increase of 22.0-50.8% from 2007 to 2011. Low-volume cancer centers demonstrated the lowest minimally invasive utilization rate (23.6%; P<.001). After multivariable adjustment, minimally invasive surgery was less likely to be performed in patients with Medicaid compared with private insurance (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.62-0.72), black and Hispanic compared with white patients (adjusted OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.41-0.46 for black and 0.77, 95% CI 0.72-0.82 for white patients), and more likely to be performed in high- compared with low-volume hospitals (adjusted OR 4.22, 95% CI 2.15-8.27). Open hysterectomy was associated with a higher risk of surgical site infection (adjusted OR 6.21, 95% CI 5.11-7.54) and venous thromboembolism (adjusted OR 3.65, 95% CI 3.12-4.27). Surgical cases with complications had higher mean hospitalization costs for all hysterectomy procedure types (P<.001). CONCLUSION: Hospital utilization of minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of endometrial cancer varies considerably in the United States, representing a disparity in the quality and cost of surgical care delivered nationwide.

Better big data.

By 2018, Medicare payments will be tied to quality of care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services currently use quality-based metric for some reimbursements through their different programs. Existing and future quality metrics will rely on risk adjustment to avoid unfairly punishing those who see the sickest, highest-risk patients. Despite the limitations of the data used for risk adjustment, there are potential solutions to improve the accuracy of these codes by calibrating data by merging databases and compiling information collected for multiple reporting programs to improve accuracy. In addition, healthcare staff should be informed about the importance of risk adjustment for quality of care assessment and reimbursement. As the number of encounters tied to value-based reimbursements increases in inpatient and outpatient care, coupled with accurate data collection and utilization, the methods used for risk adjustment could be expanded to better account for differences in the care delivered in diverse settings.

Hospital level under-utilization of minimally invasive surgery in the United States: retrospective review.

OBJECTIVE: To determine casemix adjusted hospital level utilization of minimally invasive surgery for four common surgical procedures (appendectomy, colectomy, total abdominal hysterectomy, and lung lobectomy) in the United States. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: Nationwide inpatient sample database, United States 2010. METHODS: For each procedure, a propensity score model was used to calculate the predicted proportion of minimally invasive operations for each hospital based on patient characteristics. For each procedure, hospitals were categorized into thirds (low, medium, and high) based on their actual to predicted proportion of utilization of minimally invasive surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measures were the actual and predicted proportion of procedures performed with minimally invasive surgery. Secondary outcome measures included surgical complications and hospital characteristics. RESULTS: Mean hospital utilization of minimally invasive surgery was 71.0% (423/596) for appendectomy (range 40.9-93.1% (244-555)), 28.4% (154/541) for colectomy (6.7-49.8% (36/541-269/541)), 13.0% (65/499) for hysterectomy (0.0-33.6% (0/499-168/499)), and 32.0% (67/208) for lung lobectomy (3.6-65.7% (7.5/208-137/208)). Utilization of minimally invasive surgery was highly variable for each procedure type. There was noticeable discordance between actual and predicted utilization of the surgery (range of actual to predicted ratio for appendectomy 0-1.49; colectomy 0-3.88; hysterectomy 0-6.68; lung lobectomy 0-2.51). Surgical complications were less common with minimally invasive surgery compared with open surgery, respectively: overall rate for appendectomy 3.94% (1439/36,513) v 7.90% (958/12,123), P<0.001; for colectomy: 13.8% (1689/12,242) v 35.8% (8837/24,687), P<0.001; for hysterectomy: 4.69% (270/5757) v 6.64% (1988/29,940), P<0.001; and for lung lobectomy: 17.1% (367/2145) v 25.4% (971/3824), P<0.05. High utilization of minimally invasive surgery was associated with urban location (appendectomy: odds ratio 4.66, 95% confidence interval 1.17 to 18.5; colectomy: 4.59, 1.04 to 20.3; hysterectomy: 15.0, 2.98 to 75.0), large hospital size (hysterectomy: 8.70, 1.62 to 46.8), teaching hospital (hysterectomy: 5.41, 1.27 to 23.1), Midwest region (appendectomy: 7.85, 1.26 to 49.1), south region (appendectomy: 21.0, 3.79 to 117; colectomy: 10.0, 1.83 to 54.7), and west region (appendectomy: 9.33, 1.48 to 58.8). CONCLUSION: Hospital utilization of minimally invasive surgery for appendectomy, colectomy, total abdominal hysterectomy, and lung lobectomy varies widely in the United States, representing a disparity in the surgical care delivered nationwide.

Mining high-dimensional administrative claims data to predict early hospital readmissions.

BACKGROUND: Current readmission models use administrative data supplemented with clinical information. However, the majority of these result in poor predictive performance (area under the curve (AUC)<0.70). OBJECTIVE: To develop an administrative claim-based algorithm to predict 30-day readmission using standardized billing codes and basic admission characteristics available before discharge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The algorithm works by exploiting high-dimensional information in administrative claims data and automatically selecting empirical risk factors. We applied the algorithm to index admissions in two types of hospitalized patient: (1) medical patients and (2) patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). We trained the models on 26,091 medical admissions and 3218 CP admissions from The Johns Hopkins Hospital (a tertiary research medical center) and tested them on 16,194 medical admissions and 706 CP admissions from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (a hospital that serves a more general patient population), and vice versa. Performance metrics included AUC, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, negative predictive values, and F-measure. RESULTS: From a pool of up to 5665 International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnoses, 599 ICD-9-CM procedures, and 1815 Current Procedural Terminology codes observed, the algorithm learned a model consisting of 18 attributes from the medical patient cohort and five attributes from the CP cohort. Within-site and across-site validations had an AUC≥0.75 for the medical patient cohort and an AUC≥0.65 for the CP cohort. CONCLUSIONS: We have created an algorithm that is widely applicable to various patient cohorts and portable across institutions. The algorithm performed similarly to state-of-the-art readmission models that require clinical data.

Racial and ethnic differences in health care utilization and outcomes among ulcerative colitis patients in an integrated health-care organization.

BACKGROUND: Current knowledge of racial disparities in healthcare utilization and disease outcomes for ulcerative colitis (UC) is limited. We sought to investigate these differences among Caucasian, African American, Asian, and Hispanic patients with ulcerative colitis in Kaiser Permanente, a large integrated health-care system in Northern California. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used computerized clinical data from 5,196 Caucasians, 387 African-Americans, 550 Asians, and 801 Hispanics with prevalent UC identified between 1996 and 2007. Healthcare utilization and outcomes were compared at one and five-year follow-up by use of multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Compared with whites, the male-to-female ratio differed for African-Americans (0.68 vs. 0.91, p < 0.01) and Asians (1.3 vs. 0.91, p < 0.01). Asians had fewer co-morbid conditions (p < 0.01) than whites, whereas more African-Americans had hypertension and asthma (p < 0.01). Use of immunomodulators did not differ significantly among race and/or ethnic groups. Among Asians, 5-ASA use was highest (p < 0.05) and the incidence of surgery was lowest (p < 0.01). Prolonged steroid exposure was more common among Hispanics (p < 0.05 at 1-year) who also had more UC-related surgery (p < 0.01 at 5-year) and hospitalization (<0.05 at 5-year), although these differences were not significant in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In this population of UC patients with good access to care, overall health-care utilization patterns and clinical outcomes were similar across races and ethnicity. Asians may have milder disease than other races whereas Hispanics had a trend toward more aggressive disease, although the differences we observed were modest. These differences may be related to biological factors or different treatment preferences.

Can public reporting impact patient outcomes and disparities? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Recent US healthcare reforms aim to improve quality and access. We synthesized evidence assessing the impact that public reporting (PR), which will be extended to the outpatient setting, has on patient outcomes and disparities. METHODS: A systematic review using PRISMA guidelines identified studies addressing the impact of PR on patient outcomes and disparities. RESULTS: Of the 1970 publications identified, 25 were relevant, spanning hospitals (16), nursing homes (5), emergency rooms (1), health plans (2), and home health agencies (1). Evidence of effect on patient outcomes was mixed, with 6 studies reporting a favorable effect, 9 a mixed effect, 9 a null effect, and 1 a negative effect. One study found a mixed effect of PR on disparities. CONCLUSION: The evidence of the impact of PR on patient outcomes is lacking, with limited evidence that PR has a favorable effect on outcomes in nursing homes. There is little evidence supporting claims that PR will have an impact on disparities or in the outpatient setting. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Health systems should collect information on patient-relevant outcomes. The lack of evidence does not necessarily imply a lack of effect, and a research gap exists regarding patient-relevant outcomes and PR.