E-Posters-10156

10156_Muffly

Pdf Summary

The study aimed to analyze the variation in patient referral networks to female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgeons across the United States. The researchers used network analysis to map clusters of surgeons who see the same patients and visually represent these communities. Data on referrals was obtained from DocGraph, which contains over 49 million relationships between different Medicare providers. The majority of referrals to female pelvic surgeons are from family physicians and internal medicine physicians rather than fellow obstetrician-gynecologists. The majority of these referrals are localized, although some physicians refer patients across state lines. The study suggests that future research could focus on variations in referral patterns between states and whether these variations correlate with indicators of care outcome. The findings show that there is a wide geographic distribution of female pelvic surgeons in the United States, with referral patterns being largely localized. The study used Gephi software to perform the network analysis and visualizations. The researchers also provided an interactive infographic for further exploration of the referral patterns. Overall, the study highlights the importance of understanding referral networks and their impact on patient care in the field of female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery.

Keywords

patient referral networks

female pelvic medicine

reconstructive surgeons

United States

network analysis

surgeon clusters

referral patterns

geographic distribution

Gephi software

interactive infographic