Preoperative consultations for medicare patients undergoing cataract surgery.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Low-risk elective surgical procedures are common, but there are no clear guidelines for when preoperative consultations are required. Such consultations may therefore represent a substantial discretionary service.

Objective

To assess temporal trends, explanatory factors, and geographic variation for preoperative consultation in Medicare beneficiaries undergoing cataract surgery, a common low-risk elective procedure.

Design, setting, and participants

Cohort study using a 5% national random sample of Medicare part B claims data including a cohort of 556,637 patients 66 years or older who underwent cataract surgery from 1995 to 2006. Temporal trends in consultations were evaluated within this entire cohort, whereas explanatory factors and geographic variation

SUBMITTER: Thilen SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4167873 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature