PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Stewart M. Hamilton
AU  - William C. Johnston
AU  - Donald C. Voaklander
TI  - Outcomes after the regionalization of major surgical procedures in the Alberta Capital Health Region (Edmonton)
DP  - 2001 Feb 01
TA  - Canadian Journal of Surgery
PG  - 51--58
VI  - 44
IP  - 1
4099  - http://canjsurg.ca/content/44/1/51.short
4100  - http://canjsurg.ca/content/44/1/51.full
SO  - CAN J SURG2001 Feb 01; 44
AB  - Objective: To evaluate the impact of regionalization on the outcomes of 16 surgical procedures performed in the Capital Health Region (Edmonton) of Alberta.Design: A computer search of hospital discharge abstracts coded for the Canadian Institute for Health Information.Setting: Two major hospitals in Edmonton.Patients: The study population comprised 9250 patients (9727 procedures [4524, pre-regionalization, 5203 post-regionalization]) who underwent any of 16 major procedures in the 2 years before and the 2 years after restructuring.Outcome measures: Demographic data, Charlson’s comorbidity index, number of urgent and emergent cases, death rate, average length of hospital stay and the readmission rate.Results: The post-regionalization patient group was slightly older, had a higher comorbidity index, and fewer urgent and emergent cases. The case volume increased by 15%, and 43.6% of patients used some form of community-based health care services. The median length of hospital stay decreased from 8.0 days pre-regionalization to 7.0 days post-regionalization (p < 0.001). Overall and for specific procedures the death rate was unchanged (3.1% pre-regionalization, 2.4% post-regionalization, p = 0.06). The readmission rates were similar for both groups (8.0% versus 7.0%).Conclusions: The consolidation of these 16 major surgical procedures had minimal impact on death and readmission rates even though patients in the post-regionalization group were slightly older and had greater comorbidity. There was a significant decline in the length of hospital stay, which occurred nationally over the same period, and a corresponding increase in the use of community-based services.