Increase Seen in Percentage of Rural Patients Traveling More Than an Hour for Surgical Care
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 2025 -- The percentage of patients traveling more than 60 minutes to obtain surgical care increased significantly between 2010 and 2020, according to a research letter published online Feb. 12 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Cody Lendon Mullens, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues quantified changes in travel times for rural patients undergoing surgical care. Road travel times were estimated for each admission using zip code centroids of the patient's home and the hospital where they underwent an operation; travel times were calculated using Google Maps. Data were included for 12,396,649 beneficiary admissions (2,678,251 rural) across 16 procedures.
The researchers found that for 12 of 16 procedures, there was an increase in the percentage of rural patients traveling more than 60 minutes for surgical care between 2010 and 2020; nonsignificant changes were seen for the remaining four procedures, which were all high-risk. Across all procedures, there was an increase in the percentage of rural beneficiaries traveling more than 60 minutes to obtain surgical care, from 36.8 to 44.1 percent (annual change, 0.70 percent). The percentage increased from 32.9 to 37.8 percent for low-risk procedures, with an annual change of 0.54 percent; for high-risk procedures, the percentage increased from 53.9 to 59.2 percent, with an annual change of 0.64 percent.
"These findings suggest a persistent and growing disparity in travel for rural patients undergoing surgical procedures," the authors write. "Contributing factors likely include ongoing rural hospital closures, workforce shortages, and rural patients bypassing local facilities to obtain care elsewhere."
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted February 2025
Read this next
Discharge to Postacute Care Can Be Benchmark Metric for Older Surgical Patients
THURSDAY, Sept. 4, 2025 -- Discharge to postacute care for older adult surgical patients can be used as a benchmarking metric for hospitals, according to a study published online...
Endoscopic Sinus Surgery Beneficial for Chronic Rhinosinusitis
THURSDAY, Sept. 4, 2025 -- For patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, endoscopic sinus surgery improves disease-specific quality of life at six months, according to a study...
One in 60 Women Undergoing C-Section Experience Severe Perioperative Morbidity
TUESDAY, Sept. 2, 2025 -- Nearly one in 60 patients undergoing cesarean delivery experiences severe perioperative surgical morbidity, according to a study published online Aug. 21...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.