Hospital teaching status and Medicare payments, outcomes

Editor's Note

Risk-adjusted Medicare payments for an episode of surgical care were similar at teaching and nonteaching hospitals for three complex surgical procedures, this study finds.

Teaching vs nonteaching hospital payments included:

• abdominal aortic aneurism repair−$29,946 vs $27,993
• pulmonary resection−$25,407 vs $26,813
• colectomy−$34,949 vs $30,352.

Very major teaching hospitals had higher risk-adjusted rates of serious complications and readmissions, but they had lower rates of failure to rescue and 30-day mortality than nonteaching hospitals.

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the relationship between hospital teaching intensity, Medicare payments, and perioperative outcomes. Background: Several emerging payment policies penalize hospitals for low-value healthcare. Teaching hospitals may be at a disadvantage given the perception that they deliver care less efficiently.