A new report by ProPublica sheds light on the importance of choosing the right surgeon, especially when it comes to elective surgery. The non-profit news organization analyzed the complication rates of 17,000 surgeons nationwide and released its findings to the public. For its analysis of surgical complication rates, ProPublica acquired Medicare billing records for in-patient hospital stays from 2009 through 2013. They focused on eight common elective surgeries – knee replacements, hip replacements, three types of spinal fusions, one in the neck and two in the lower back, gall bladder removals, prostate removals, and prostate resections. These surgeries were chosen because they are typically performed on healthy patients and are considered relatively low risk.
View Surgeon Scorecard
Read more on the methodology: https://www.propublica.org/article/surgeon-level-risk-short-methodology