Assessing Variation in Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Therapy Guideline Adherence With Physician and Hospital Patient-sharing Networks.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy is used for primary prevention of death among people with heart failure, and new evidence in 2005 on its effectiveness changed practice guidelines in the United States. OBJECTIVES:The objective of this study is to examine how the connectedness of physicians and hospitals, measured using network analysis, relates to guideline-consistent ICD implantation. RESEARCH DESIGN:We constructed physician and hospital networks for cardiovascular disease. Physicians were linked if they shared cardiovascular disease patients; these links were aggregated by hospital affiliation to construct a hospital network. SUBJECTS:Medicare beneficiaries who underwent ICD therapy for primary prevention from 2007 to 2011. MEASURES:The clinical outcome of

SUBMITTER: Moen EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5851832 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature