Case Studies
Improving Patient Decision-Making in Health Care: A 2012 Dartmouth Atlas Series
Medicine involves decisions. But for Medicare patients with conditions for which surgery is an option, whether they undergo elective surgery depends largely on where they live and the clinicians they see. Research suggests that for many conditions -- especially those that can be treated with elective surgery -- the treatment a patient receives depends more on the physician's recommendations than the patient's preferences. When studying elective surgeries, the Dartmouth Atlas found remarkable variation in these 'preference-sensitive' procedures for Medicare patients, even though they had similar conditions. This series, a collaborative project with the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation, looks at the variation in surgical rates in 306 hospital referral regions across the United States. Each report highlights one of nine regions and shows the variation that exists even across these smaller geographic areas.
Medicine involves decisions. But for Medicare patients with conditions for which surgery is an option, whether they undergo elective surgery depends largely on where they live and the clinicians they see. Research suggests that for many conditions -- especially those that can be treated with elective surgery -- the treatment a patient receives depends more on the physician's recommendations than the patient's preferences. When studying elective surgeries, the Dartmouth Atlas found remarkable variation in these 'preference-sensitive' procedures for Medicare patients, even though they had similar conditions. This series, a collaborative project with the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation, looks at the variation in surgical rates in 306 hospital referral regions across the United States. Each report highlights one of nine regions and shows the variation that exists even across these smaller geographic areas.