Biomedical subjects

S L Zatz

Publications and source records attributed to S L Zatz.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

Increased ERCP rate following the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Over the past 5 years there has been a remarkable change in the manner in which symptomatic gallstones are surgically managed. In this study we reviewed the experience of a large HMO to determine the relationship between the rate of increase of ERCP and that of cholecystectomy. All individuals enrolled in US Healthcare's HMO-PA, in the region of southeastern Pennsylvania from 1988 through 1993, were included in the analysis. Using the HMO claims database, patients who underwent an open or laparoscopic cholecystectomy during the study period were identified. We then identified those patients who had a pre- or post- operative ERCP. Over the study period, there has been a substantial increase in cholecystectomies per 1000 members-from 1.37 in 1988 to 2.16 (p < 0.0001) in 1993. In our study population there were 1261 ERCPs performed in 979 patients with an average of 1.3 ERCPs per patient during the study period. The ERCP rate per 1000 members has increased from 0.16 to 0.56 (p < 0.0001) from 1988 to 1993, at the same time that the cholecystectomy rate was substantially increasing. The correlation for the ERCP and cholecystectomy rates from 1988 to 1993 was 0.994 (p < 0.0001). Since the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 1989-1990, many more ERCPs are now being performed. It is necessary to determine the implications related to the rapid diffusion of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, including the effect that this technology has had on other older and stable technologies such as ERCP. Our results describe the dramatic effect that laparoscopic cholecystectomy has had on the utilization of ERCPs.

Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde↗

PubMed1993

Performance-based hospital contracting for quality improvement.

A carefully negotiated process that ties improvements in performance to additional compensation can align incentives and support efforts to improve care. Such a process needs to be objective, data-driven, and focused on issues that are important both to the purchaser and to the provider.

Consumer Behavior↗

PubMed1985

Photographic measurement of pleural surface motion during lung oscillation.

The regional pleural surface expansion of an excised dog lung was measured during high-frequency ventilation (HFV) using synchronized stroboscopic photography to stop lung motion at 20 evenly spaced intervals over a respiratory cycle during ventilation at 1 Hz with a volume of 100 ml, 15 Hz with 100 ml, or 30 Hz with 50 ml. The lungs were also photographed during quasi-static deflation. The pleural surface was marked with ink dots to form 84 approximately square figures. The side lengths and areas of each of the 84 "squares" were measured for each frame of each photo sequence. At 1 Hz and during the quasi-static deflation the lung ventilated nearly synchronously, although minor nonuniformities were noted on both small and large length scales. At 15 and 30 Hz, the lung expanded asynchronously and nonuniformly, with a 78% increase in surface expansion per 100 ml of tracheal tidal volume, as frequency was increased from 1 to 30 Hz. These nonuniformities in expansion suggest marked interregional airflow and elastic wave propagation in the parenchyma during HFV.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Increased cholecystectomy rate after the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To examine if overall cost savings may fail to result from laparoscopic ("closed") cholecystectomy if it also results in an increased total rate of cholecystectomies or generates additional costs unassociated with the open procedure. OUTCOME MEASURES: Inpatient and outpatient expenditures, incidence rates, and length of inpatient stay data for 6909 health maintenance organization enrollees with gallbladder complaints were analyzed from 1988 through 1992 using claims data from a large, private practice-based health maintenance organization. RESULTS: The incidence of cholecystectomy and total health maintenance organization expenditures on gallbladder disease have increased since the introduction of laparoscopic closed cholecystectomy. The rate of cholecystectomy procedures per 1000 enrollees increased from 1.35 in 1988 to 2.15 in 1992 (P < .001). Total annual medical expenditures on gallbladder disease per 1000 enrollees (in 1992 dollars) rose 11.4% during the study period (P < .001), despite a concurrent 25.1% decline in the unit cost (physician and hospital cost) for cholecystectomy procedures (P < .001). During the same study period, no significant change was noted in the rate of appendectomy per 1000 enrollees (0.76 in 1988 to 0.73 in 1992), which is a measure of nonelective surgical care, or in the inguinal hernia repair rate (2.01 in 1988 to 2.19 in 1992), which has a physician and patient discretionary component similar to that of cholecystectomy. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of laparoscopic gallbladder surgery resulted in rising rates of cholecystectomy for a population of patients in a private, independent practice-based health maintenance organization. Such a rise was not seen for hernia repair surgery or appendectomy. It seems that the use of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a new technology touted as reducing health care costs, may result in an increased consumption of health care resources due to changes in the indications for gallbladder surgery.

Cholecystectomy↗