The National Center for Rural Health Works (NCRHW) published a research study last September entitled Estimating the Need for a General Surgeon based on the Demand for Primary Care Practitioners in the Medical Service Area.
The full report can be found here.
Purpose of the Study
The need for surgical services in rural areas seems obvious, but with the variability among surgeons, it can be challenging to estimate the amount of general surgery services that a specific medical service area could support. It is difficult to identify a single definition that would uniquely describe every rural general surgeon or the routine procedures that they perform. There is a strong relationship between primary care and other specialty physician services. Visits to a specialist are typically generated from primary care practitioner referrals. Therefore, the utilization of primary care practitioner services can be the basis for estimating the need for a general surgeon.
Approach
This paper presents a methodology to estimate the need for general surgery based on available primary care practitioner services. This methodology could be used for other specialty services as well. The information included in this report is designed to assist local decision-makers in assessing the need and potential for general surgery services. A case study illustrating the methodology will be presented.
Key Findings
- The relationship between primary care and specialty physician services can be the basis for estimating the need for specialty services.
- The number of visits and type of general surgery procedures can be significantly different from hospital to hospital
- The need for a general surgeon is impacted by the demographics of the population base, the scope of practice for the local general surgeon and the number of primary care practitioners.
- The medical service area, population usage rates of local primary care practitioners and the referral rates for local general surgeons should be determined locally.
