Anesthesia bills in Medicare claims provide an excellent source of information on surgery times throughout the United States, according to a study published in the July 2011 issue of Anesthesiology.
According to the study's abstract, procedure length is a fundamental variable tied to quality of care, though it is rarely studied on a large scale. The study authors sought to estimate procedure length by examining information in the Medicare anesthesia claim.
The Obesity and Surgical Outcomes Study enlisted 47 hospitals in New York, Texas and Illinois to study patients undergoing hip, knee, colon and thoracotomy procedures. The researchers abstracted 15,914 charts to determine BMI and physiology, induction, cut, close and recovery room times. The chart information was merged to Medicare claims that included anesthesia part B billing information.
The researchers analyzed correlations between chart times and claim times and found that the anesthesia time can be used to estimate surgical procedure length, though analysts must watch for errors in both chart abstraction and anesthesia claims.
Read the abstract on the study in Anesthesiology.
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According to the study's abstract, procedure length is a fundamental variable tied to quality of care, though it is rarely studied on a large scale. The study authors sought to estimate procedure length by examining information in the Medicare anesthesia claim.
The Obesity and Surgical Outcomes Study enlisted 47 hospitals in New York, Texas and Illinois to study patients undergoing hip, knee, colon and thoracotomy procedures. The researchers abstracted 15,914 charts to determine BMI and physiology, induction, cut, close and recovery room times. The chart information was merged to Medicare claims that included anesthesia part B billing information.
The researchers analyzed correlations between chart times and claim times and found that the anesthesia time can be used to estimate surgical procedure length, though analysts must watch for errors in both chart abstraction and anesthesia claims.
Read the abstract on the study in Anesthesiology.
Related Articles on Anesthesia:
The Top Challenges for Anesthesiologists: 5 Thoughts From ASA Incoming President Dr. Jerry Cohen
American Society of Anesthesiologists Announces Updates to Email Marketing System
Study: Increasing Dexmedotomidine Dose Does Not Enhance Sedation