Elliot Wakeam1, Nathanael D Hevelone2, Rebecca Maine2, Jabaris Swain2, Stuart A Lipsitz2, Samuel R G Finlayson2, Stanley W Ashley2, Joel S Weissman3. 1. Center for Surgery and Public Health, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts2Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 2. Center for Surgery and Public Health, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 3. Center for Surgery and Public Health, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts3Patient-Centered Comparative Effectiveness Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Abstract
IMPORTANCE: Failure to rescue (FTR), the mortality rate among surgical patients with complications, is an emerging quality indicator. Hospitals with a high safety-net burden, defined as the proportion of patients covered by Medicaid or uninsured, provide a disproportionate share of medical care to vulnerable populations. Given the financial strains on hospitals with a high safety-net burden, availability of clinical resources may have a role in outcome disparities. OBJECTIVES: To assess the association between safety-net burden and FTR and to evaluate the effect of clinical resources on this relationship. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort of 46,519 patients who underwent high-risk inpatient surgery between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2010, was assembled using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Hospitals were divided into the following 3 safety-net categories: high-burden hospitals (HBHs), moderate-burden hospitals (MBHs), and low-burden hospitals (LBHs). Bivariate and multivariate analyses controlling for patient, procedural, and hospital characteristics, as well as clinical resources, were used to evaluate the relationship between safety-net burden and FTR. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: FTR. RESULTS: Patients in HBHs were younger (mean age, 65.2 vs 68.2 years; P = .001), more likely to be of black race (11.3% vs 4.2%, P < .001), and less likely to undergo an elective procedure (39.3% vs 48.6%, P = .002) compared with patients in LBHs. The HBHs were more likely to be large, major teaching facilities and to have high levels of technology (8.6% vs 4.0%, P = .02), sophisticated internal medicine (7.7% vs 4.3%, P = .10), and high ratios of respiratory therapists to beds (39.7% vs 21.1%, P < .001). However, HBHs had lower proportions of registered nurses (27.9% vs 38.8%, P = .02) and were less likely to have a positron emission tomographic scanner (15.4% vs 22.0%, P = .03) and a fully implemented electronic medical record (12.6% vs 17.8%, P = .03). Multivariate analyses showed that HBHs (adjusted odds ratio, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.19-1.53; P < .001) and MBHs (adjusted odds ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.05-1.27; P = .005) were associated with higher odds of FTR compared with LBHs, even after adjustment for clinical resources. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Despite access to resources that can improve patient rescue rates, HBHs had higher odds of FTR, suggesting that availability of hospital clinical resources alone does not explain increased FTR rates.
IMPORTANCE: Failure to rescue (FTR), the mortality rate among surgical patients with complications, is an emerging quality indicator. Hospitals with a high safety-net burden, defined as the proportion of patients covered by Medicaid or uninsured, provide a disproportionate share of medical care to vulnerable populations. Given the financial strains on hospitals with a high safety-net burden, availability of clinical resources may have a role in outcome disparities. OBJECTIVES: To assess the association between safety-net burden and FTR and to evaluate the effect of clinical resources on this relationship. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort of 46,519 patients who underwent high-risk inpatient surgery between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2010, was assembled using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Hospitals were divided into the following 3 safety-net categories: high-burden hospitals (HBHs), moderate-burden hospitals (MBHs), and low-burden hospitals (LBHs). Bivariate and multivariate analyses controlling for patient, procedural, and hospital characteristics, as well as clinical resources, were used to evaluate the relationship between safety-net burden and FTR. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: FTR. RESULTS:Patients in HBHs were younger (mean age, 65.2 vs 68.2 years; P = .001), more likely to be of black race (11.3% vs 4.2%, P < .001), and less likely to undergo an elective procedure (39.3% vs 48.6%, P = .002) compared with patients in LBHs. The HBHs were more likely to be large, major teaching facilities and to have high levels of technology (8.6% vs 4.0%, P = .02), sophisticated internal medicine (7.7% vs 4.3%, P = .10), and high ratios of respiratory therapists to beds (39.7% vs 21.1%, P < .001). However, HBHs had lower proportions of registered nurses (27.9% vs 38.8%, P = .02) and were less likely to have a positron emission tomographic scanner (15.4% vs 22.0%, P = .03) and a fully implemented electronic medical record (12.6% vs 17.8%, P = .03). Multivariate analyses showed that HBHs (adjusted odds ratio, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.19-1.53; P < .001) and MBHs (adjusted odds ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.05-1.27; P = .005) were associated with higher odds of FTR compared with LBHs, even after adjustment for clinical resources. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Despite access to resources that can improve patient rescue rates, HBHs had higher odds of FTR, suggesting that availability of hospital clinical resources alone does not explain increased FTR rates.
Authors: Vikrom K Dhar; Richard S Hoehn; Young Kim; Brent T Xia; Andrew D Jung; Dennis J Hanseman; Syed A Ahmad; Shimul A Shah Journal: J Gastrointest Surg Date: 2017-08-28 Impact factor: 3.452
Authors: Julie C Fitzgerald; Yimei Li; Brian T Fisher; Yuan-Shung Huang; Tamara P Miller; Rochelle Bagatell; Alix E Seif; Richard Aplenc; Neal J Thomas Journal: Pediatr Crit Care Med Date: 2018-06 Impact factor: 3.624
Authors: Erin C Hall; Chaoyi Zheng; Russell C Langan; Lynt B Johnson; Nawar Shara; Waddah B Al-Refaie Journal: Am J Surg Date: 2016-01-06 Impact factor: 2.565
Authors: Anai N Kothari; Barbara A Blanco; Sarah A Brownlee; Ann E Evans; Victor A Chang; Gerard J Abood; Raffaella Settimi; Daniela S Raicu; Paul C Kuo Journal: Surgery Date: 2016-08-11 Impact factor: 3.982