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Cross-Post: Gender Differences in Medicare Practice and Payments to Neurosurgeons

By Cross Post, Medicare, Women in NeurosurgeryNo Comments

From time to time on the Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places when we believe they may interest our readers. Today, we wanted to bring attention to a recent publication in JAMA Surgery.​ The article — “Gender Differences in Medicare Practice and Payments to Neurosurgeons” by Temitope O. Oshinowo, AB, et al. compares practice metrics and earning potential between female and male neurosurgeons and examines gender disparity in Medicare reimbursement.

The authors state that despite efforts to promote diversity within the neurosurgical workforce, individuals from underrepresented groups face significant challenges. Females account for approximately 50% of medical school graduates but comprise just 18.2% of neurosurgery residents and only 6% of board-certified neurosurgeons. Female physicians in the U.S. are estimated to be compensated 25% less, or the equivalent of $2 million, in career-long earnings.

Using Medicare data across practice settings, the authors examine patterns of significant disparity in procedural volume and payments and found significant gender-based variation in practice patterns and reimbursement among neurosurgeons serving the Medicare fee-for-service population. Female surgeons were reimbursed less than male surgeons for performing the same primary procedure. “While there has been a trend of increased female representation in neurosurgery, women continue to face challenges in establishing, maintaining, and progressing within their neurosurgical careers,” according to Oshinowo et al.

Click here to read the full article.

We hope you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and @WINSNeurosurge1 and using the hashtag #WomenInNeurosurgery.

Cross-Post: Improving Health Care Quality Measurement to Combat Clinician Burnout

By Burnout, Cross PostNo Comments

From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting to items from other places that we believe will interest our readers. Today’s post originally appeared in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Sept. 1. Neurosurgeon Anthony M. DiGiorgio, DO, MHA, FAANS, Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH and Brian J. Miller, MD, MBA, MPH discuss the impacts and causes of burnout, which affects up to two thirds of physicians.

Although the causes are multifactorial, the authors state that one of the key causes for clinician frustration is quality metrics. Administrative burdens from poorly designed systems and ineffective regulatory policies are central to clinician frustration. Improving these metrics could reduce clinician burnout, with studies indicating that physicians spend less than 15% of their day in direct patient contact. “A living system of quality metrics with a ceiling on their quantity, as well as a metric life cycle with continuous assessment and improvement, would significantly reduce burdens on clinicians and administrators alike” according to DiGiorgio et al.

Click here to read the full article in JAMA.

We hope you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery.

Burnout Among Physicians: A System Issue

By BurnoutNo Comments

The prevalence of physician distress has been well documented in recent years, and data suggests that 44% of U.S. physicians experience symptoms of burnout.

A recent study titled, “Resilience and Burnout Among Physicians and the General US Working Population,” published in JAMA Network Open — a journal of the American Medical Association (AMA) — evaluated resilience among physicians and how it compared with resilience among other U.S. workers. The study also measured burnout symptoms to analyze the association between resilience and burnout among physicians.

Researchers surveyed 5,445 U.S. physicians and 5,198 U.S. workers. Results revealed significantly higher mean resilience scores among physicians than the general working population. The findings suggest that, although maintaining and strengthening resilience is important, physicians overall do not have a deficit in resilience.

Even among the most resilient physicians, burnout rates were substantial, and 29% of physicians with the highest possible resilience score still experienced burnout. This study demonstrates that solutions such as including efforts to address system issues in the clinical care environment are needed to reduce burnout and promote physician well-being.

To read the full JAMA Network Open article, click here.

Editor’s note: We hope that you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to be part of the conversation on Twitter by following @Neurosurgery and using the hashtag #PhysicianBurnout.