Can Surgeon Demographic Factors Predict Postoperative Complication Rates After Elective Spinal Fusion?

Conclusions: Publicly available complication rates for individual spine surgeons are being utilized by hospital systems and patients to assess aptitude and gauge expectations. The increasing demand for transparency will likely lead to emphasis of these statistics to improve outcomes. We conclude that none of the surgeon demographic factors analyzed in this study are associated with differences in overall complications rates in patients undergoing elective spine fusion as published by the ProPublica Surgeon Scorecard. Level of Evidence: Level 3.
Source: Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques - Category: Surgery Tags: Primary Research Source Type: research