Patient characteristics and hospital quality for colorectal cancer surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To assess associations of patient characteristics with quality-related characteristics of the hospitals where they were treated for colorectal cancer and the role of these associations in disparities in treatment quality affecting vulnerable patient groups or variations across health plans.
SETTING: Population-based cancer registry in California. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 38 237 patients diagnosed with stage I-III (non-metastatic) colorectal cancer in California between 1994 and 1998.
METHODS: Registry data were linked with hospital discharge abstracts, US census data, and Medicare enrollment data. The associations of patients' sociodemographic, clinical, and geographic covariates with treatment at high-volume institutions were assessed with logistic regression. The associations of patients' covariates with the risk-adjusted 30-day mortality rates of the hospitals where they received surgery were tested with linear regression.
RESULTS: Patients with more advanced tumor stage or more extensive comorbidity, those of Hispanic or Asian race/ethnicity, and those from less affluent communities were less likely to undergo surgery at high-volume institutions and were treated at hospitals with higher risk-adjusted 30-day postoperative mortality rates than those who were less severely ill, white, or more affluent, respectively (all P < 0.05). Black patients also received surgery at hospitals with above-average mortality. Among patients 65 years and older, Medicare managed-care enrollees underwent surgery in higher-volume hospitals than Medicare fee-for-service enrollees, and there was substantial variation in hospital volume and adjusted hospital mortality among Medicare managed-care plans.
CONCLUSION: Improving access of sicker, poorer, and minority patients to high-quality hospitals for cancer surgery may improve their outcomes. Further study of processes affecting hospital referral is warranted.