Catastrophic medical malpractice payouts in the United States.

Catastrophic medical malpractice payouts, $1 million or greater, greatly influence physicians' practice, hospital policy, and discussions of healthcare reform. However, little is known about the specific characteristics and overall cost burden of these payouts. We reviewed all paid malpractice claims nationwide using the National Practitioner Data Bank over a 7-year period (2004-2010) and used multivariate regression to identify risk factors for catastrophic and increased overall payouts. Claims with catastrophic payouts represented 7.9% (6,130/77,621) of all paid claims. Factors most associated with catastrophic payouts were patient age less than 1 year; quadriplegia, brain damage, or lifelong care; and anesthesia allegation group. Compared with court judgments, settlement was associated with decreased odds of a catastrophic payout (odds ratio, 0.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.42) and lower estimated average payouts ($124,863; 95% CI, $101,509-144,992). A physician's years in practice and previous paid claims history had no effect on the odds of a catastrophic payout. Catastrophic payouts averaged $1.4 billion per year or 0.05% of the National Health Expenditures. Preventing catastrophic malpractice payouts should be only one aspect of comprehensive patient safety and quality improvement strategies. Future studies should evaluate the benefits of targeted interventions based on specific patient safety event characteristics.

Comparison of intensive care unit medication errors reported to the United States' MedMarx and the United Kingdom's National Reporting and Learning System: a cross-sectional study.

The objective was to compare the characteristics of medication errors reported to 2 national error reporting systems by conducting a cross-sectional analysis of errors reported from adult intensive care units to the UK National Reporting and Learning System and the US MedMarx system. Outcome measures were error types, severity of patient harm, stage of medication process, and involved medications. The authors analyzed 2837 UK error reports and 56 368 US reports. Differences were observed between UK and US errors for wrong dose (44% vs 29%), omitted dose (8.6% vs 27%), and stage of medication process (prescribing: 14% vs 49%; administration: 71% vs 42%). Moderate/severe harm or death was reported in 4.9% of UK versus 3.4% of US errors. Gentamicin was cited in 7.4% of the UK versus 0.7% of the US reports (odds ratio = 9.25). There were differences in the types of errors reported and the medications most often involved. These differences warrant further examination.

Does bariatric surgery affect urinary incontinence?

OBJECTIVE: To determine International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision, (ICD-9) coding patterns as a proxy for incidence and prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) in a population of patients before and after a bariatric surgical procedure for the treatment of obesity. METHODS: We evaluated claims from a national private insurer over a 5-year period (2002-2006) to identify female patients who underwent bariatric surgery and had 3 years of follow-up claims data. The cohort of patients who underwent bariatric surgery (treatment) was matched to a cohort of obese female patients who did not undergo bariatric surgery (control), who were followed from the start of their enrollment. UI was identified by ICD-9 coding. RESULTS: After bariatric surgery, 62.4% of patients (83/133) diagnosed with UI before their surgery no longer had a coding diagnosis of UI. In contrast, only 42.1% (56/133) of those in the nonbariatric surgery cohort lost their coding diagnosis of UI (P = .0009). Of those that did not have pre-existing UI, 6.2% (235/3765) of the bariatric surgery cohort gained a new coding diagnosis of UI vs 7.1% (269/3765) of the control group (P = .1169). Our final model suggested that age >45 years (P <.0001) and pre-existing UI (P <.0001) were significantly associated with post-index date UI. Interaction between bariatric surgical status and UI was also significant (P <.0001). CONCLUSION: Patients who undergo bariatric surgery are more likely to lose a previous diagnosis of UI than are obese patients not treated with bariatric surgery. This supports the fact that bariatric surgery may have other indirect benefits to the obese population.

Outcomes from IBD-associated and non-IBD-associated colorectal cancer: a Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Medicare study.

BACKGROUND: There is controversy as to whether the clinicopathological features of colorectal cancer in the setting of IBD are distinct from sporadic colorectal cancer. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics and outcomes between IBD-associated and sporadic colorectal cancer. DESIGN: This retrospective population-based cohort study used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Medicare-linked database. SETTINGS: This study was conducted in 6 US metropolitan areas enrolled in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results. PATIENTS: Beneficiaries of Medicare parts A and B identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database with a diagnosis of IBD-associated or sporadic colorectal cancer who underwent surgical resection were included in the study. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: The main outcome was death. The adjusted risk ratio for death compared patients with IBD-associated colorectal cancer with patients who had sporadic colorectal cancer. RESULTS: Patients with IBD-associated colorectal cancer were more likely to present at an earlier stage, use immunosuppression, and have metachronous colorectal cancer. Although total proctocolectomy was more common among IBD patients with colorectal cancer, the majority (>75%) underwent a segmental resection. Cancer-specific survival was worse for IBD-associated colorectal cancer vs sporadic colorectal cancer (mean, 32.9 months vs 42.4 months). After adjusting for potential confounders, older age, male sex, higher stage, IBD, immunosuppression, neoadjuvant radiation, and metachronous tumor were associated with a higher risk of cancer-specific mortality. Among patients with IBD, there was no difference in cancer-specific survival for segmental colectomy vs proctocolectomy. LIMITATIONS: This is a retrospective cohort study utilizing insurance data dependent on the correct coding of patient claims. CONCLUSION: Older patients with IBD-associated colorectal cancer appear to have a slightly worse outcome than those with sporadic colorectal cancer. The cause of this is multifactorial, but it does not appear to be associated with a more limited surgical resection.

Clinical outcomes after bariatric surgery: a five-year matched cohort analysis in seven US states.

BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery is the most effective weight loss treatment, yet few studies have reported on short- and long-term outcomes postsurgery. METHODS: Using claims data from seven Blue Cross/Blue Shield health plans serving seven states, we conducted a non-concurrent, matched cohort study. We followed 22,693 persons who underwent bariatric surgery during 2003-2007 and were enrolled at least 6 months before and after surgery. Using logistic regression, we compared serious and less serious adverse clinical outcomes, hospitalizations, planned procedures, and obesity-related co-morbidities between groups for up to 5 years. RESULTS: Relative to controls, surgery patients were more likely to experience a serious [odds ratio (OR) 1.9; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.8-2.0] or less serious (OR 2.5, CI 2.4-2.7) adverse clinical outcome or hospitalization (OR 1.3, CI 1.3-1.4) at 1 year postsurgery. The risk remained elevated until 4 years postsurgery for serious events and 5 years for less serious outcomes and hospitalizations. Some complication rates were lower for patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery. Planned procedures, such as skin reduction, peaked in postsurgery year 2 but remained elevated through year 5. Surgery patients had a 55% decreased risk of obesity-related co-morbidities, such as type 2 diabetes, in the first year postsurgery, which remained low throughout the study (year 5: OR 0.4, CI 0.4-0.5). CONCLUSIONS: While bariatric surgery is associated with a higher risk of adverse clinical outcomes compared to controls, it also substantially decreased obesity-related co-morbidities during the 5-year follow-up.

An evaluation of surgical site infections by wound classification system using the ACS-NSQIP.

BACKGROUND: Surgical wound classification has been the foundation for infectious risk assessment, perioperative protocol development, and surgical decision-making. The wound classification system categorizes all surgeries into: clean, clean/contaminated, contaminated, and dirty, with estimated postoperative rates of surgical site infection (SSI) being 1%-5%, 3%-11%, 10%-17%, and over 27%, respectively. The present study evaluates the associated rates of the SSI by wound classification using a large risk adjusted surgical patient database. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) dataset between 2005 and 2008. All surgical cases that specified a wound class were included in our analysis. Patient demographics, hospital length of stay, preoperative risk factors, co-morbidities, and complication rates were compared across the different wound class categories. Surgical site infection rates for superficial, deep incisional, and organ/space infections were analyzed among the four wound classifications using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 634,426 cases were analyzed. From this sample, 49.7% were classified as clean, 35.0% clean/contaminated, 8.56% contaminated, and 6.7% dirty. When stratifying by wound classification, the clean, clean/contaminated, contaminated, and dirty wound classifications had superficial SSI rates of 1.76%, 3.94%, 4.75%, and 5.16%, respectively. The rates of deep incisional infections were 0.54%, 0.86%, 1.31%, and 2.1%. The rates for organ/space infection were 0.28%, 1.87%, 2.55%, and 4.54%. CONCLUSION: Using ACS-NSQIP data, the present study demonstrates substantially lower rates of surgical site infections in the contaminated and dirty wound classifications than previously reported in the literature.

Race and cognitive decline among community-dwelling elders with mild cognitive impairment: findings from the Memory and Medical Care Study.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have reported conflicting findings on the relationship between race and cognitive decline in elders with dementia. Few studies have examined the role of race in cognitive decline in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We investigate the relationship between race and cognitive decline in participants with MCI in a community-based, longitudinal study of cognitively impaired elders. METHOD: Based on a validated method utilizing a neuropsychiatric battery, 133 subjects [mean age: 78.7 years (SD = 6.5); female: 112 (76.7%); black: 59 (44.4%)] out of 512 participants in the Memory and Medical Care Study were diagnosed with MCI. The main outcome measure was the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) score over three years. Other baseline subject characteristics (demographics, health-related variables, behavioral, and psychiatric symptoms) were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Overall, the three-year decline in mean TICS score was significantly higher among African Americans than non-African Americans [3.31 (SD: 7.5) versus 0.96 (SD: 3.0), t-value = 1.96, p-value = 0.05]. General estimating equation analyses revealed that African American race was associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline in all models. CONCLUSION: The rate of cognitive decline in MCI appears to be faster in African Americans than non-African Americans in the community. Diagnosis of MCI among African American elders could lead to early interventions to prevent or delay cognitive decline in the future.

The impact of obesity on urinary tract infection risk.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a study to describe the way in which an increasingly obese body mass index (BMI) is associated with urinary tract infection (UTI). The association between UTI and obesity is not well characterized. In fact, previous investigations of this subject have yielded conflicting findings. UTI is increasingly being recognized as a preventable complication, and UTI rates are used to measure quality of surgical care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated claims over a 5-year period (2002-2006) in a national private claims database to identify patients diagnosed with UTI or pyelonephritis by ICD-9 coding. Descriptive analyses were performed and odds ratios were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 95,598 subjects were identified for evaluation. Gender distribution was 42.9% male and 57.1% female. In the overall study cohort, the diagnosis of a UTI or pyelonephritis occurred in 13% and 0.84%, respectively. Women were 4.2 times more likely to be diagnosed with a UTI (19.3% vs 4.6%), and 3.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with pyelonephritis (1.22% vs 0.34%), than were men. At all stratifications of obesity, the obese were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with a UTI or pyelonephritis than nonobese patients. CONCLUSION: Elevated BMI appears to be associated with an increased risk for UTI and pyelonephritis. Further study is needed to determine whether this association may be attributed to a cause-and-effect relationship. However, these results may serve to guide clinicians who treat obese patients, because it may be an additional benefit of weight loss.

Readmission rates and cost following colorectal surgery.

BACKGROUND: Hospital readmission is emerging as a quality indicator by the state, federal, and private payors with the goal of denying payment for select readmissions. OBJECTIVE: We designed a study to measure the rate, cost, and risk factors for hospital readmission after colorectal surgery. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: We reviewed commercial health insurance records of 10,882 patients who underwent colorectal surgery over a 7-year period (2002-2008). PATIENTS: All patients undergoing colon and/or rectal resection ages 18 to 64 were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The 30-day and 90-day readmission rates, the number of readmissions per patient, the median cost, length of stay, and risk factors for readmission were analyzed. RESULTS: Thirty-day readmission occurred in 11.4% (1239/10,882) of patients. Readmission between 31 and 90 days occurred in an additional 11.9% (1027/10,882) of patients for a total 90-day readmission rate of 23.3%. Two or more readmissions occurred in 1.4% (155) and 5.2% (570) of patients in the first 30 and 90 days. Mean readmission length of stay was 8 days, and the median cost per stay was $8885. Initial hospitalization risk factors for readmission were the diagnosis of a surgical site infection (OR 1.2), creation of a stoma (OR 1.2), discharge to nursing home (OR 1.2), index admission length of stay >7 days (OR 1.2), proctectomy (OR 1.1), and severity of illness score (severity of illness 3 = OR 1.1; severity of illness 4 = OR 1.3). CONCLUSIONS: Readmission after colorectal surgery occurs frequently and is associated with a cost of approximately $9000 per readmission. Nationwide these findings account for $300 million in readmission costs annually for colorectal surgery alone. Clinical and systems-based prevention strategies are needed to reduce readmission.

Shifting trends in liver-directed management of patients with colorectal liver metastasis: a population-based analysis.

BACKGROUND: We sought to evaluate population-based temporal trends in perioperative management, as well as short- and long-term outcomes associated with the operative management of colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM). METHODS: Using Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare linked data, we identified 2,121 patients with operatively managed CRLM between 1991 and 2006. Clinicopathologic data, trends in operative management, and survival were examined. RESULTS: Preoperative evaluation included computed tomography (CT; 66%), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; 5%), and positron emission tomography (PET; 2%) with a temporal increase in the use of all 3 modalities over time (all P < .05). Patients undergoing hepatectomy only (n = 1,267; 60%) decreased over time, whereas the use of ablation alone (n = 668; 32%) and combined resection plus ablation (n = 186; 9%) increased (all P < .05). The use of both preoperative (10% to 16%) and adjuvant chemotherapy (35% to 47%) increased over time (P < .05). There was a marked temporal increase in patient comorbidities (>3 comorbidities: 1991-1995, 3%; 2003-2006, 12%; P < .001); however, perioperative complications (63%) and 30-day mortality (3%) did not change over time (both P > .05); 90-day mortality decreased from 9% to 7% over the study period (P = .007). Overall the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survivals were 74%, 42%, and 28% with no improvement over time (P = .19). On multivariate analysis, synchronous disease (hazard ratio [HR], 1.7) and use of ablation alone (HR, 1.2) were associated independently with a worse survival (both P < .05). CONCLUSION: Most patients were evaluated with CT; PET was employed rarely. Although there was a temporal increase in chemotherapy utilization, only one half of patients received perioperative chemotherapy. Mortality associated with hepatic operations was low, but morbidity remained high with no temporal change despite an increased number of patient medical comorbidities.

Are temporary staff associated with more severe emergency department medication errors?

The use of temporary staff in healthcare is on the rise due in part to work-force shortages and perceived cost savings. They may present an increased risk of errors from insufficient training and orientation, and less familiarity with local culture and practice. However, their impact, particularly in the emergency department where the risk of preventable medication errors is high, has not been established. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether temporary staff medication errors would be associated with more severe harm than permanent staff medication errors. We used a national Internet-based medication error reporting system (MEDMARX) and did a cross-sectional study of the dataset between the years 2000 and 2005. After adjusting for clustering by facility, temporary staff errors were more likely than permanent staff errors to reach the patient (odds ratio [OR] 1.42, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.97-2.09), require patient monitoring (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.21-3.03), result in temporary harm (OR 3.11, 95% CI 1.13-8.59), and be life-threatening (OR 8.63, 95% CI 1.22-61.0). In conclusion, emergency department medication errors associated with temporary staff were more harmful than those associated with permanent staff.

The long-term risk of venous thromboembolism following bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality following bariatric surgery. The exact duration and magnitude of post-surgery risk for VTE, however, is unclear. We analyzed a large administrative database to determine the long-term risk and predictors for VTE in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. METHODS: A private insurance claims database was used to identify 17,434 patients who underwent bariatric surgery. Longitudinal data were available for each patient for up to 12 months post-surgery. We used logistic regression to identify independent predictors for VTE events. RESULTS: The incidence of VTE during the index surgical hospitalization was .88%. This cumulative rate rose to 2.17% at 1 month and 2.99% by 6 months post-surgery. Over 74% of VTE events occurred after discharge. Risk factors identified for VTE developing by 6 months post-surgery included male sex (odds ratio (OR) = 1.68; confidence limits (CL) = 1.37-2.07), age ≥ 55 years (OR = 2.18; CL = 1.56-3.03), smoking (OR = 1.86; CL = 1.06-3.27), and previous VTE (OR = 7.48; CL = 5.78-9.67). The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band was less likely to result in VTE compared to open or laparoscopic gastric bypass (OR = .31; CL = .13-.75). CONCLUSIONS: The period of increased risk for VTE following bariatric surgery extends well beyond the initial hospital discharge and 30 days after surgery. The high frequency of VTE up to 6 months following bariatric surgery suggests that more aggressively extended prophylaxis should be considered in patients at higher risk for VTE.

The impact of obesity on breast surgery complications.

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of obesity may worsen surgical outcomes and confound standardized metrics of surgical quality. Despite anecdotal evidence, the increased risk of complications in obese patients is not accounted for in these metrics. To better understand the impact of obesity on surgical complications, the authors designed a study to measure complication rates in obese patients presenting for a set of elective breast procedures. METHODS: Using claims data from seven Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, the authors identified a cohort of obese patients and a nonobese control group who underwent elective breast procedures covered by insurance between 2002 and 2006. The authors compared the proportion of patients in each group who experienced a surgical complication. Using multivariate logistic regression, the authors calculated the odds of developing a surgical complication when obesity was present. RESULTS: There were 2403 patients in the obese group (breast reduction, 80.7 percent; reconstruction, 10.3 percent; mastopexy with augmentation, 1.5 percent; mastopexy alone, 3.5 percent; and augmentation alone, 4.0 percent). The occurrence of complications was compared for each procedure to a nonobese control group of 5597 patients. Overall, 18.3 percent of obese patients had a claim for a complication, compared with only 2.2 percent in the control group (p<0.001). Obesity status increased the odds of experiencing a complication by 11.8-fold after adjusting for other variables. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is associated with a nearly 12-fold increased odds of a postoperative complication after elective breast procedures. As quality measures are increasingly applied to surgical evaluation and reimbursement, appropriate risk adjustment to account for the effect of obesity on outcomes will be essential. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Risk, II.

Refining the definition of perioperative mortality following hepatectomy using death within 90 days as the standard criterion.

OBJECTIVES: Defining perioperative mortality as death that occurs within 30 days of surgery may underestimate 'true' mortality among patients undergoing hepatic resection. To better define perioperative mortality, trends in the risk for death during the first 90 days after hepatectomy were assessed. METHODS: Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Medicare data were used to identify 2597 patients who underwent hepatic resection during 1991-2006. Data on their clinicopathological characteristics, surgical management and perioperative mortality were collected and survival was assessed at 30, 60 and 90 days post-surgery. RESULTS: Overall, 5.7% of patients died within the first 30 days. Postoperative mortality at 60 and 90 days were 8.3% and 10.1%. In-hospital mortality after hepatic resection was greater among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than among those with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) (8.9% and 3.8%, respectively; P < 0.001). In CRLM patients, mortality increased from 4.3% at 30 days to 8.4% at 90 days, whereas mortality in HCC patients increased from 9.7% at 30 days to 15.0% at 90 days (both P < 0.05). Patients with HCC were twice as likely as CRLM patients to die within 30 days [odds ratio (OR) 2.03], 60 days (OR = 1.74) and 90 days (OR = 1.71) (all P < 0.001). Differences in 30- and 90-day mortality were greatest among HCC patients undergoing major hepatic resection (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Reporting deaths that occur within a maximum of 30 days of surgery underestimates the mortality associated with hepatic resection. Traditional 30-day definitions of mortality are misleading and surgeons should report all perioperative outcomes that occur within 90 days of hepatic resection.

Pay for obesity? Pay-for-performance metrics neglect increased complication rates and cost for obese patients.

BACKGROUND: Rates of surgical complications are increasingly being used for pay-for-performance reimbursement structures. We hypothesize that morbid obesity has a significant effect on complication rates and costs following commonly performed general surgical procedures. METHODS: We studied 30,502 patients who underwent cholecystectomy for cholecystitis and 6,390 patients who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis using administrative claims data from seven Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans over a 7-year period (2002-2008). We compared 30-day complications as well as total 30-day direct medical costs for obese and non-obese patients. Multivariate regressions were performed to determine the relationship of morbid obesity to complications and cost. RESULTS: Obese patients were more likely to have a complication within 30 days after surgery than non-obese patients (19.2% vs. 15.7% for cholecystectomy, p < 0.0001; 20.2% vs. 15.2%, p < 0.0001, for appendectomy). The mean total 30-day postoperative cost for obese patients were $1,109 higher following a cholecystectomy (p < 0.0001) and $666 higher following an appendectomy (p = 0.09). CONCLUSION: Morbid obesity is associated with a higher rate of complications for two commonly performed general surgical procedures and is associated with higher costs for cholecystectomy. Pay-for-performance metrics should account for the increased risk of complications and higher cost in this population.

Surgical site infections and cost in obese patients undergoing colorectal surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To measure the effect of obesity on surgical site infection (SSI) rates and to define the cost of SSIs in patients undergoing colorectal surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: This is a retrospective cohort study of 7020 colectomy patients using administrative claims data from 8 Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance plans. Patients who had a total or segmental colectomy for colon cancer, diverticulitis, or inflammatory bowel disease between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2008, were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We compared 30-day SSI rates among obese and nonobese patients and calculated total costs from all health care claims for 90 days following surgery. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors for SSIs. RESULTS: Obese patients had an increased rate of SSI compared with nonobese patients (14.5% vs 9.5%, respectively; P < .001). Independent risk factors for these infections were obesity (odds ratio = 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.32-1.91) and open operation as compared with a laparoscopic procedure (odds ratio = 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.97). The mean total cost was $31,933 in patients with infection vs $14,608 in patients without infection (P < .001). Total length of stay was longer in patients with infection than in those without infection (mean, 9.5 vs 8.1 days, respectively; P < .001), as was the probability of hospital readmission (27.8% vs 6.8%, respectively; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity increases the risk of an SSI after colectomy by 60%, and the presence of infection increases the colectomy cost by a mean of $17,324. Pay-for-performance policies that do not account for this increased rate of SSI and cost of caring for obese patients may lead to perverse incentives that could penalize surgeons who care for this population.

Variation in lymph node assessment after colon cancer resection: patient, surgeon, pathologist, or hospital?

BACKGROUND: Evaluation of ≥ 12 lymph nodes after colon cancer resection has been adopted as a hospital quality measure, but compliance varies considerably. We sought to quantify relative proportions of the variation in lymph node assessment after colon cancer resection occurring at the patient, surgeon, pathologist, and hospital levels. METHODS: The 1998-2005 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database was used to identify 27,101 patients aged 65 years and older with Medicare parts A and B coverage undergoing colon cancer resection. Multilevel logistic regression was used to model lymph node evaluation as a binary variable (≥ 12 versus <12) while explicitly accounting for clustering of outcomes. RESULTS: Patients were treated by 4,180 distinct surgeons and 2,656 distinct pathologists at 1,113 distinct hospitals. The overall rate of 12-lymph node (12-LN) evaluation was 48%, with a median of 11 nodes examined per patient, and 33% demonstrated lymph node metastasis on pathological examination. Demographic and tumor-related characteristics such as age, gender, tumor grade, and location each demonstrated significant effects on rate of 12-LN assessment (all P < 0.05). The majority of the variation in 12-LN assessment was related to non-modifiable patient-specific factors (79%). After accounting for all explanatory variables in the full model, 8.2% of the residual provider-level variation was attributable to the surgeon, 19% to the pathologist, and 73% to the hospital. CONCLUSION: Compliance with the 12-LN standard is poor. Variation between hospitals is larger than that between pathologists or surgeons. However, patient-to-patient variation is the largest determinant of 12-LN evaluation.

National study on the frequency, types, causes, and consequences of voluntarily reported emergency department medication errors.

BACKGROUND: Medication errors contribute to significant morbidity, mortality, and costs to the health system. Little is known about the characteristics of Emergency Department (ED) medication errors. STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the frequency, types, causes, and consequences of voluntarily reported ED medication errors in the United States. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of all ED errors reported to the MEDMARX system between 2000 and 2004. MEDMARX is an anonymous, confidential, de-identified, Internet-accessible medication error-reporting program designed to allow hospitals to report, track, and share error data in a standardized format. RESULTS: There were 13,932 medication errors from 496 EDs analyzed. The error rate was 78 reports per 100,000 visits. Physicians were responsible for 24% of errors, nurses for 54%. Errors most commonly occurred in the administration phase (36%). The most common type of error was improper dose/quantity (18%). Leading causes were not following procedure/protocol (17%), and poor communication (11%), whereas contributing factors were distractions (7.5%), emergency situations (4.1%), and workload increase (3.4%). Computerized provider order entry caused 2.5% of errors. Harm resulted in 3% of errors. Actions taken as a result of the error included informing the staff member who committed the error (26%), enhancing communication (26%), and providing additional training (12%). Patients or family members were notified about medication errors 2.7% of the time. CONCLUSION: ED medication errors may be a result of the acute, crowded, and fast-paced nature of care. Further research is needed to identify interventions to reduce these risks and evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions.

National trends in the management and survival of surgically managed gallbladder adenocarcinoma over 15 years: a population-based analysis.

INTRODUCTION: National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend hepatic resection and lymphadenectomy (LND) for gallbladder adenocarcinoma (GBA). We sought to evaluate compliance with these recommendations and to assess trends in the management and survival of patients with GBA. METHODS: Using Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare-linked data, we identified 2,955 patients with GBA who underwent cancer-directed surgery from 1991 to 2005. We assessed clinicopathologic data, trends in surgical management, and survival. RESULTS: From 1991 to 2005, preoperative evaluation included CT (62%), MRI (6%), and PET (2%). Only 383 (13%) patients underwent radical resection/hepatectomy with a temporal increase over the study period (1991-1995, 12%; 1996-1999, 10%; 2000-2002, 12.0%; 2003-2005, 16%; P < 0.001). For patients undergoing radical resection/hepatectomy, LND ≥ 3 nodes was performed in 96 (3%) patients. Among patients who had LND, 47% had nodal metastasis. The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival was 56%, 30%, and 21%. On multivariate analysis, radical resection/hepatectomy (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.71) and LND ≥ 3 nodes (HR = 0.56) were independently associated with increased survival. There was no significant improvement in survival over time (P = 0.60). CONCLUSIONS: Compliance with NCCN guidelines for GBA remains poor. Survival of patients with surgically managed GBA has not improved over time.

Medication utilization and annual health care costs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus before and after bariatric surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of bariatric surgery with the use of diabetes medications and with total health care costs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. DESIGN: We studied 2235 adults with type 2 diabetes and commercial health insurance who underwent bariatric surgery in the United States during a 4-year period from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2005. We used administrative claims data to measure the use of diabetes medications at specified time intervals before and after surgery and total median health care costs per year. SETTING: Seven states in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Obesity Care Collaborative. PATIENTS: Two thousand two hundred thirty-five patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who underwent bariatric surgery. RESULTS: Surgery was associated with elimination of diabetes medication therapy in 1669 of 2235 patients (74.7%) at 6 months, 1489 of 1847 (80.6%) at 1 year, and 906 of 1072 (84.5%) at 2 years after surgery. Reduction of use was observed in all classes of diabetes medications. The median cost of the surgical procedure and hospitalization was $29,959. In the 3 years following surgery, total annual health care costs per person increased by 9.7% ($616) in year 1 but then decreased by 34.2% ($2179) in year 2 and by 70.5% ($4498) in year 3 compared with a preoperative annual cost of $6376 observed from 1 to 2 years before surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Bariatric surgery is associated with reductions in the use of medication and in overall health care costs in patients with type 2 diabetes. Health insurance should cover bariatric surgery because of its health and cost benefits.