How Variable are Patient Comorbidity Profiles Among Practicing Otolaryngologists?

Objective: To determine whether certain groups of otolaryngologists (ORLs) are treating cohorts of patients with more comorbidities.
Study Design: Cross-sectional population-based analysis.
Setting: 2019 Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Dataset.
Methods: Each ORL's average Medicare hierarchical condition category (HCC) risk score, a comorbidity index calculated from a patient's comorbidities, was collected. These were stratified and compared by various physician characteristics, including practice region and rurality, years in practice, gender, subspecialty, and setting (academic vs community).
Results: Among 8959 ORLs, the mean HCC risk score for Medicare patients was 1.35 ± 0.35. On univariate analysis, ORLs practicing in urban (compared to rural), ORLs in academic settings (compared to community), and early career ORLs all had a patient population with a higher HCC risk score (P < .001 for all). On multivariate analysis controlling for gender, rurality, graduation year, and region, rural setting was associated with decreased odds of having a high-risk patient population (odds ratio: 0.58 [95% confidence interval, CI: 0.48-0.71]; P < .001), while those more recently graduated has an increased risk (2000-2009: 1.41 [1.01-1.96], P = .046; 2010-2015: 2.30 [1.63-3.25], P < .001). In a separate subgroup analysis, subspecialty differences were seen and community setting was associated with decreased odds of having a high-risk patient population (0.36 [0.23-0.55]; P < .001).
Conclusion: There is variability in patient comorbidity profiles among ORLs, with those in urban settings, those more recently graduated, and those in academic settings treating a group with more comorbidities. As the comorbidity burden may increase the cost of practice and complications, these findings may have important implications for health inequity.
(© 2024 American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.)