30. Evaluation of Access to Female Cardiothoracic Surgeons by Geographical Region
University Hospital
San Antonio, TX
United States - Contact Me
Dr. Carpenter is certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery specializing in all aspects of adult cardiac surgery. She is particularly interested in valvular heart disease performing minimally invasive surgical aortic valve replacement, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and complex reconstruction of the aortic root and aortic arch. She was a member of the US Air Force for 14 years including residency at David Grant USAF Medical Center, Thoracic Fellowship at UC Davis and surgeon / Flight commander of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Wilford Hall Medical Center. She joined the faculty at UT Health Science Cneter at San Antonio full time in 2003. Today, Dr Carpenter is the Assistant Dean for in GME for health science systems st the Long School of Medicine and holds the rank of clinical professor. She is fully committed to thoracic surgical education and is a national leader in the evolution of thoracic surgery education.
Baylor Scott & White Health
United States - Contact Me
Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellow at Baylor University Medical Center/ Heart Hospital Plano
Abstract
Methods: We accessed the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Database from 2013 to 2019 and generated a list of cardiothoracic surgeons submitting to that database. Data was extracted for 88 CPT codes for major aortic, valve, and revascularization procedures. These data were used to compare cases by gender of the surgeon across the United States.
Results: 2435 CT surgeons were identified in the database. From 2013 to 2019, the percentage of female surgeons reporting in all categories rose from 64/2076 (3.08%) to 122/2435 (5.01%). Cochran-Armitage Trend test showed a statistically significant increase in the proportion of female surgeons over time (p < 0.0001). Volumes in non-CABG operations by female surgeons were minimal. In 2019, there were 107 female surgeons who performed CABGs in the database. The ten states with the greatest number of female surgeons performing CABG were California (12 surgeons), Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania (all 7), Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio (all 5) and Georgia, Missouri, and Texas (all 4). 14 states (28%) did not have a reported female CT surgeon in the Medicare database. Figure 1 is a representation of the number of female cardiac surgeons by state.
Conclusions: Review of Medicare Provider Utilization Database indicates that female CT surgeons are still a significant minority of the total available providers in cardiothoracic care. This suggests a potential care gap for female patients considering recent data suggesting female patients have improved outcomes when under the care of female providers. Hearteningly, the data indicate slow but steady growth in the proportion of female cardiothoracic surgeons. There is pronounced regional variation in the availability of female providers favoring the Northeast and Western regions of the US. This may reflect differences in regional recruitment, reimbursement, or reporting that could be additional avenues of study to determine if there are modifiable factors that could improve access to female surgeons. There continues to be a large gender disparity in CT care