31 Jul Do Top Ranked Hospitals Have Better Outcomes for GI Surgery?

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Nguyen

Ninh T. Nguyen, MD
Department of Surgery
University of California Irvine Medical Center
Orange, California

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The US World & News Report publishes each year on top ranked hospitals for specific specialties. These ratings are promoted nationally and used by patients and physicians in making decisions about where to receive care for challenging conditions or common elective procedures.

Bariatric, colorectal and hiatal hernia procedures are common gastrointestinal operations being performed at most hospitals. Seeking care for these operations specifically at top 50 ranked hospitals can pose significant logistic and financial constraints for most patients. The objective of this study was to determine whether top ranked hospitals (RHs) in Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (GGS) have improved outcomes for advanced laparoscopic abdominal surgery compared to non-ranked hospitals (NRHs).

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: US World & News Report top ranked hospitals performed 3-fold higher annual volume of advanced laparoscopic abdominal operations compared to non-ranked hospitals. Despite the higher case volume, there was no association between ranked hospitals with improved outcomes for common advanced laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery.  

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Our study demonstrated that USNWR ranked hospitals for GGS does not necessarily imply improved outcome for common gastrointestinal operations. However, it is still important for patients to make an informed decision on where to receive care by inquiring on the expertise of the surgical team/program, annual case volume, and the presence of national accreditation, if applicable.

Any disclosures? I received honorarium as a speaker for Covidien, Gore, Novadaq, and Olympus, however, these are not relevant to the current study.  

Citation:

Gambhir S, Daly S, Grigorian A, et al. Association of US News and World Report Top Ranking for Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Operation With Patient Outcomes in Abdominal Procedures. JAMA Surg. Published online July 31, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2019.2327

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/2738657

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Last Updated on July 31, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD