Impact of urologists' ownership of radiation equipment in the treatment of prostate cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Physician practices that offer ancillary medical services may refer their patients for such services, a process known as self-referral. We wanted to evaluate how utilization and cost of care differ for men diagnosed with prostate cancer in a self-referral practice (SRP) compared to a traditional urologic practice.

Methods

A total of 17 982 men aged 66 years and older diagnosed with localized prostate cancer from 2006 to 2009 were identified from the Texas Cancer Registry. A total of 13 SRPs in the state of Texas were evaluated. We used multilevel logistic regression models that evaluated the odds of receiving a specific type of treatment.

Results

Men diagnosed in SRPs were more likely to receive upfront treatment (vs watchful waiting/active surveillance) th

SUBMITTER: Williams SB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9846832 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature