Peter Cram1,2,3,4, Bruce E Landon5,6, John Matelski2, Vicki Ling3, Anthony V Perruccio3,7,8, J Michael Paterson3, Y Raja Rampersaud7,9,10. 1. Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON. 2. Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Sinai Health System and University Health Network, Toronto, ON. 3. Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON. 4. North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON. 5. Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. 6. Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA. 7. Healthcare & Outcomes Research, Arthritis Program, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON. 8. Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON. 9. Department of Surgery, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON. 10. Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Arthritis Program, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON.
Abstract
STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine variation in spine surgery utilization between the province of Ontario and state of New York among all patients and pre-specified patient subgroups. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Spine surgery is common and costly. Within-country variation in utilization is well studied, but there has been little exploration of variation in spine surgery utilization between countries. METHODS: We used population-level administrative data from Ontario (years 2011-2015) and New York (2011-2014) to identify all adults who underwent inpatient spinal decompression or fusion surgery using relevant procedure codes. Patients were stratified according to age and surgical urgency (elective vs. emergent). We calculated standardized utilization rates (procedures per-10,000 population per year) for each jurisdiction. We compared Ontario and New York with respect to patient demographics and the percentage of hospitals performing spine surgery. We compared utilization rates of spinal decompression and fusion surgery in Ontario and New York among all patients and after stratifying by surgical urgency and patient age. RESULTS: Patients in Ontario were older than patients in New York for both decompression (mean age 58.8 vs. 51.3 years; P < 0.001) and fusion (58.1 vs. 54.9; P < 0.001). A smaller percentage of hospitals in Ontario than New York performed decompression (26.1% vs. 54.9%; P < 0.001) or fusion (15.2% vs. 56.7%; P < 0.001). Overall, utilization of spine surgery (decompression plus fusion) in Ontario was 6.6 procedures per-10,000 population per-year and in New York was 16.5 per-10,000 per-year (P < 0.001). Ontario-New York differences in utilization were smaller for emergent cases (2.0 per 10,000 in Ontario vs. 2.5 in New York; P < 0.001), but larger for elective cases (4.6 vs. 13.9; P < 0.001). The lower utilization in Ontario was particularly large among younger patients (age <60 years). CONCLUSION: We found significantly lower utilization of spine surgery in Ontario than in New York. These differences should inform policy reforms in both jurisdictions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.
STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine variation in spine surgery utilization between the province of Ontario and state of New York among all patients and pre-specified patient subgroups. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Spine surgery is common and costly. Within-country variation in utilization is well studied, but there has been little exploration of variation in spine surgery utilization between countries. METHODS: We used population-level administrative data from Ontario (years 2011-2015) and New York (2011-2014) to identify all adults who underwent inpatient spinal decompression or fusion surgery using relevant procedure codes. Patients were stratified according to age and surgical urgency (elective vs. emergent). We calculated standardized utilization rates (procedures per-10,000 population per year) for each jurisdiction. We compared Ontario and New York with respect to patient demographics and the percentage of hospitals performing spine surgery. We compared utilization rates of spinal decompression and fusion surgery in Ontario and New York among all patients and after stratifying by surgical urgency and patient age. RESULTS: Patients in Ontario were older than patients in New York for both decompression (mean age 58.8 vs. 51.3 years; P < 0.001) and fusion (58.1 vs. 54.9; P < 0.001). A smaller percentage of hospitals in Ontario than New York performed decompression (26.1% vs. 54.9%; P < 0.001) or fusion (15.2% vs. 56.7%; P < 0.001). Overall, utilization of spine surgery (decompression plus fusion) in Ontario was 6.6 procedures per-10,000 population per-year and in New York was 16.5 per-10,000 per-year (P < 0.001). Ontario-New York differences in utilization were smaller for emergent cases (2.0 per 10,000 in Ontario vs. 2.5 in New York; P < 0.001), but larger for elective cases (4.6 vs. 13.9; P < 0.001). The lower utilization in Ontario was particularly large among younger patients (age <60 years). CONCLUSION: We found significantly lower utilization of spine surgery in Ontario than in New York. These differences should inform policy reforms in both jurisdictions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.
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