Disparities in delivery of ophthalmic care; An exploration of public Medicare data

Cecilia S Lee, Grace L Su, Douglas M Baughman, Yue Wu and Aaron Y Lee

PLOS ONE, 2017, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: Purpose: Cataract is a major cause of age-related eye diseases in the United States, and cataract extraction is the most commonly performed surgery on Medicare beneficiaries. Analyzing the pattern in delivery of cataract care at the national level can highlight areas of disparities. We evaluated geographic disparities seen in cataract surgery delivery to Medicare beneficiaries in the United States. Setting: Cataract extractions across the United States in 2012. Design: Cross-sectional study examining distance to provider and observed versus expected number of cataract extractions. Methods: Cataract extraction current procedural terminology codes were used to sum the total observed number of cataract extractions per cataract surgeon. Epidemiology data on expected number of cataract surgeries in one year by decade of life were extrapolated via a Gaussian Process model. A linear regression model was used to compare differences in delivery of care between US economic regions. Results: 2.2 million patients underwent cataract surgery in the Medicare dataset in 2012. The average distance to the nearest provider was 9.846 miles (standard deviation: 11.410 miles). This distance was statistically significant (p

Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0182598

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182598

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