Rural and Urban Patients Have Equal Access to Vascular Surgeons

A new study reveals that rural and urban patients have equivalent access to endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) care from vascular surgeons, increased referral to high-volume hospitals and improved outcomes after repair, according to the September issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.

Co-author Matthew W. Mell, MD, serves as director of vascular surgery clinics and vascular laboratory, as well as assistant professor of vascular surgery at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. He reported that 2,616 selected patients (identified from a standard five percent random sample of all Medicare beneficiaries) underwent intact AAA repair in 2005 and 2006. Data on patient demographics, comorbidities, type of repair and specialty of operating surgeon were collected. For more information, click here to read the full release.