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July 26. 2012 10:43PM
Study: The more neurosurgeons, the better for car crash victims
LEBANON — Can the number of brain surgeons located in an area actually help decrease the number of people killed in car crashes?
That’s the theory researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are proposing: “There was a direct correlation between the number of neurosurgeons in a county and reduced numbers of motor vehicle accident deaths,” said neurosurgery resident Dr. Atman Desai, who led the research. “This relationship held even when socioeconomic factors were accounted for.”
The study is being published online by the Journal of Neurosurgery this week.
Desai said the study was conducted to confirm what was already anecdotally known: Access to specialists like neurosurgeons after an accident can be a matter of life or death.
“Motor vehicle accidents are a very significant cause of fatalities in this country. Brain injuries in turn are the major reason for fatalities after a motor vehicle accident,” Desai said.
Traumatic brain injuries are generally handled by neurosurgeons.
“What we wanted to see was if there was an increased risk of motor vehicle accident death over all,” Desai said. “Was there some protective affect statistically in those areas with more neurosurgeons?” Desai was aided in the study by Dartmouth-Hitchcock neurosurgeon Dr. Perry A. Ball, who was the principal investigator, and his fellow neurosurgery resident Dr. Kimon Bekelis.
“What we were interested in looking at was whether there was a correlation between the population density of neurosurgeons across counties in the United States and the overall car accident fatalities in those counties,” Desai said.
Together the team analyzed county-level data that spanned from 2004 to 2006 on health care facilities and their use and expenditures; health care professionals and their training; and socioeconomic and environmental characteristics.
What they found was that residents of rural areas are more likely to die of injuries from motor vehicle accidents, which could be attributed to a slow medical response time and reduced access to trauma resources.
“(Neurosurgeons) tend to cluster around larger hospitals and as a result they tend to be in more urban areas,” Desai said. “We would tend to conclude that the findings demonstrated that neurosurgeons and more broadly speaking medical specialists contribute greatly to medical health outcomes.”
Another finding of the study was that most counties in the U.S. over that three-year period had no neurosurgeons practicing, Desai said.
“Most counties could be consistently underserved. … There’s a scarcity in many counties,” Desai said.
He said these health outcomes could be improved with more access to specialists in underserved areas, malpractice reform, protection of reimbursement and the development of effective trauma services that incorporate neurosurgeons.
“Given what this study suggests, I think that it highlights the importance for promoting the neurosurgical practice and education across the country,” Desai said. “This really adds to the discussion of adequate distribution in health care.”
Meghan Pierce may be reached at mpierce@newstote.com.
That’s the theory researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are proposing: “There was a direct correlation between the number of neurosurgeons in a county and reduced numbers of motor vehicle accident deaths,” said neurosurgery resident Dr. Atman Desai, who led the research. “This relationship held even when socioeconomic factors were accounted for.”
The study is being published online by the Journal of Neurosurgery this week.
Desai said the study was conducted to confirm what was already anecdotally known: Access to specialists like neurosurgeons after an accident can be a matter of life or death.
“Motor vehicle accidents are a very significant cause of fatalities in this country. Brain injuries in turn are the major reason for fatalities after a motor vehicle accident,” Desai said.
Traumatic brain injuries are generally handled by neurosurgeons.
“What we wanted to see was if there was an increased risk of motor vehicle accident death over all,” Desai said. “Was there some protective affect statistically in those areas with more neurosurgeons?” Desai was aided in the study by Dartmouth-Hitchcock neurosurgeon Dr. Perry A. Ball, who was the principal investigator, and his fellow neurosurgery resident Dr. Kimon Bekelis.
“What we were interested in looking at was whether there was a correlation between the population density of neurosurgeons across counties in the United States and the overall car accident fatalities in those counties,” Desai said.
Together the team analyzed county-level data that spanned from 2004 to 2006 on health care facilities and their use and expenditures; health care professionals and their training; and socioeconomic and environmental characteristics.
What they found was that residents of rural areas are more likely to die of injuries from motor vehicle accidents, which could be attributed to a slow medical response time and reduced access to trauma resources.
“(Neurosurgeons) tend to cluster around larger hospitals and as a result they tend to be in more urban areas,” Desai said. “We would tend to conclude that the findings demonstrated that neurosurgeons and more broadly speaking medical specialists contribute greatly to medical health outcomes.”
Another finding of the study was that most counties in the U.S. over that three-year period had no neurosurgeons practicing, Desai said.
“Most counties could be consistently underserved. … There’s a scarcity in many counties,” Desai said.
He said these health outcomes could be improved with more access to specialists in underserved areas, malpractice reform, protection of reimbursement and the development of effective trauma services that incorporate neurosurgeons.
“Given what this study suggests, I think that it highlights the importance for promoting the neurosurgical practice and education across the country,” Desai said. “This really adds to the discussion of adequate distribution in health care.”
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Meghan Pierce may be reached at mpierce@newstote.com.
