Healthcare spending and utilization following antireflux surgery: examining costs and reasons for readmission.

BACKGROUND: While clinical outcomes have been reported for anti-reflux surgery (ARS), there are limited data on post-operative encounters, including readmission, and their associated costs. This study evaluates healthcare utilization during the 90-day post-operative period following ARS including fundoplication and/or paraesophageal hernia (PEH) repair. METHODS: Data were analyzed from the Truven Health MarketScan® Databases. Patients older than 16 years with an ICD-9 procedure code or Common Procedural Terminology (CPT) code for ARS and a primary diagnosis of GERD during 2012-2014 were selected. Healthcare spending and utilization on emergency department (ED) visits, performance of outpatient endoscopy, and readmission were examined. Reasons for readmission were classified based on ICD-9 code. RESULTS: A total of 40,853 patients were included in the cohort with a mean age of 49 years and females comprising 76.0%. Mean length of stay was 1.4 days, and 93.0% of patients underwent a laparoscopic approach. The mean cost of the index surgical admission was $24,034. Readmission occurred in 4.2% of patients, and of those, 26.3% required a surgical intervention. Patients requiring one or more related readmissions accrued additional costs of $29,513. Some of the most common reasons for readmission were related to nutritional, metabolic, and fluid and electrolyte disorders. Presentation to the ED occurred in 14.0% of patients, and outpatient upper endoscopy was required in 1.5% of patients, but with much lower associated costs as compared to readmission ($1175). CONCLUSION: The majority of patients undergoing ARS do not require additional care within 90 days of surgery. Patients who are readmitted accrue costs that almost double the overall cost of care compared to the initial hospitalization. Measures to attenuate potentially preventable readmissions after ARS may reduce healthcare utilization in this patient population.

Utilization of preoperative endoscopic ultrasound for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is used for pancreatic adenocarcinoma staging and obtaining a tissue diagnosis. The objective was to determine patterns of preoperative EUS and the impact on downstream treatment. METHODS: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Medicare-linked database was used to identify patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The staging period was the first staging procedure within 6 months of surgery until surgery. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with preoperative EUS. The main outcome was EUS in the staging period, with secondary outcomes including number of staging tests and time to surgery. RESULTS: 2782 patients were included, 56% were treated at an academic hospital (n = 1563). 1204 patients underwent EUS (43.3%). The factors most associated with receipt of EUS were: earlier year of diagnosis, SEER area, and a NCI or academic hospital (all p < 0.0001). EUS was associated with a longer time to surgery (17.8 days; p < 0.0001), and a higher number of staging tests (40 tests/100 patients; p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Factors most associated with receipt of EUS are geographic, temporal, and institutional, rather than clinical/disease factors. EUS is associated with a longer time to surgery and more preoperative testing, and additional study is needed to determine if EUS is overused.

Specialization and the current practices of general surgeons.

BACKGROUND: The impact of specialization on the practice of general surgery has not been characterized. Our goal was to assess general surgeons' operative practices to inform surgical education and workforce planning. STUDY DESIGN: We examined the practices of general surgeons identified in the 2008 State Inpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Databases of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project for 3 US states. Operations were identified using ICD-9 and CPT codes linked to encrypted physician identifiers. For each surgeon, total operative volume and percentage of practice that made up their most common operation were calculated. Correlation was measured between general surgeons' case volume and the number of other specialists in a health service area. RESULTS: There were 1,075 general surgeons who performed 240,510 operations in 2008. The mean operative volume for each surgeon was 224 annual procedures. General surgeons performed an average of 23 different types of operations. For the majority of general surgeons, their most common procedure constituted no more than 30% of total practice. The most common operations, ranked by the frequency they appeared as general surgeons' top procedure, included cholecystectomy, colonoscopy, endoscopy, and skin excision. The proportion of general surgery practice composed of endoscopic procedures inversely correlated with the number of gastroenterologists in the health service area (rho = -0.50; p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Despite trends toward specialization, the current practices of general surgeons remain heterogeneous. This indicates a continued demand for broad-based surgical education to allow future surgeons to tailor their practices to their environment.