Surgeon Sex and Health Care Costs for Patients Undergoing Common Surgical Procedures.
JAMA Surg
; 159(2): 151-159, 2024 Feb 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38019486
ABSTRACT
Importance Prior research has shown differences in postoperative outcomes for patients treated by female and male surgeons. It is important to understand, from a health system and payer perspective, whether surgical health care costs differ according to the surgeon's sex. Objective:
To examine the association between surgeon sex and health care costs among patients undergoing surgery. Design, Setting, andParticipants:
This population-based, retrospective cohort study included adult patients undergoing 1 of 25 common elective or emergent surgical procedures between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2019, in Ontario, Canada. Analysis was performed from October 2022 to March 2023. Exposure Surgeon sex. Main Outcome andMeasure:
The primary outcome was total health care costs assessed 1 year following surgery. Secondarily, total health care costs at 30 and 90 days, as well as specific cost categories, were assessed. Generalized estimating equations were used with procedure-level clustering to compare costs between patients undergoing equivalent surgeries performed by female and male surgeons, with further adjustment for patient-, surgeon-, anesthesiologist-, hospital-, and procedure-level covariates.Results:
Among 1â¯165â¯711 included patients, 151â¯054 were treated by a female surgeon and 1â¯014â¯657 were treated by a male surgeon. Analyzed at the procedure-specific level and accounting for patient-, surgeon-, anesthesiologist-, and hospital-level covariates, 1-year total health care costs were higher for patients treated by male surgeons ($24â¯882; 95% CI, $20â¯780-$29â¯794) than female surgeons ($18â¯517; 95% CI, $16â¯080-$21â¯324) (adjusted absolute difference, $6365; 95% CI, $3491-9238; adjusted relative risk, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.14). Similar patterns were observed at 30 days (adjusted absolute difference, $3115; 95% CI, $1682-$4548) and 90 days (adjusted absolute difference, $4228; 95% CI, $2255-$6202). Conclusions and Relevance This analysis found lower 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year health care costs for patients treated by female surgeons compared with those treated by male surgeons. These data further underscore the importance of creating inclusive policies and environments supportive of women surgeons to improve recruitment and retention of a more diverse and representative workforce.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Surgeons
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
JAMA Surg
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: