Key result
Increased surgeon specialization was associated with lower 30-day postoperative mortality rates (OR 0.510 per 0.1 unit Herfindahl increase; P=0.015).
Why the study?
Does higher surgeon specialization reduce 30-day postoperative mortality rates in surgical patients?
Population
Patients undergoing surgery at Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri, between 2002 and 2005
Comparison
Higher surgeon specialization vs Lower surgeon specialization
Design
Cohort
Follow-up
30-day
Authors
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Does not support practice changes; leaves open whether specialization causally improves surgical mortality.
Observational
No
Does higher surgeon specialization reduce 30-day postoperative mortality rates in surgical patients?
Odds Ratio: 0.51
p-value: p=0.015
Increased surgeon specialization, defined by procedural concentration, is independently associated with improved 30-day postoperative mortality rates regardless of case volume.
Hall et al. (2009) conducted an observational in Surgical patients. Surgeon specialization (procedural concentration) vs. Lower surgeon specialization was evaluated on 30-day postoperative mortality rates (OR 0.510 per 0.1 unit Herfindahl increase, p=0.015). Increased surgeon specialization was associated with lower 30-day postoperative mortality rates (OR 0.510 per 0.1 unit Herfindahl increase; P=0.015).
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