Evidence map›Paper›PMID 9685118›Full record

ArticleHealth services research1998

A comparison of cardiovascular procedure use between the United States and Canada.

D K Verrilli, R Berenson, S J Katz

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Health services research, 1998. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

D K VerrilliRadiology Management Sciences, Los Altos, CA 94022, USA.
R Berenson
S J Katz

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo compare the relative volume and intensity of all types of cardiovascular procedures, noninvasive tests, and diagnostic imaging for all elderly individuals between the United States and the three largest Canadian provinces (Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia) by patient age. DATA SOURCES: Service volume data for the United States for a one percent random sample of claims obtained from Medicare's National Claims History System. Data for Canada were obtained from the Ministries of Health in the three provinces representing 100 percent of the claims received by each Ministry. STUDY

designDesign is a cross-sectional analysis of 1992 claims data. DATA EXTRACTION

methodsThe volume of cardiovascular services was measured in terms of the relative value units (RVUs) used in the Medicare fee schedule to calculate payments. Services were disaggregated into nine clinical categories, and comparisons were made by type of cardiovascular service and patient age.

resultsOverall, cardiovascular procedure RVUs per elderly beneficiary are 53 percent greater in the United States than in Canada. Differences are largest for surgical procedures such as carotid thromboendarterectomy and revascularization procedures and smallest for diagnostic imaging and noninvasive tests. The differences between the countries in the use of cardiovascular procedures increase markedly with age. For example, the United States-to-Canada ratio for PTCA use is 1.87 for persons age 65 to 69, but 7.68 for persons age 80 and older. For CABG, the ratios are 1.36 and 7.16, respectively.

conclusionsOur findings suggest that global budgets in Canada result in lower levels of cardiovascular service use among the elderly, particularly among the very aged elderly. Patient age appears to play a much more important role in determining the recipients of cardiovascular procedures in Canada than in the United States. Whether these higher rates of procedure use among the very elderly in the United States compared to Canada reflect profligate service use or contribute to improved outcomes is uncertain.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsCanadaCardiovascular DiseasesCardiovascular Surgical ProceduresCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHealth Care RationingHeart Function TestsHumansMaleMiddle AgedRelative Value ScalesUnited StatesUtilization Review

Identifiers

PMID9685118
PMCPMC1070272

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.