Title | Personal and Professional Characteristics of U.S. Dual-Boarded Critical Care Cardiologists in 2015. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2017 |
Authors | Blumenthal DM, Mikhael B, Lawler PR, Yeh RW, Metlay JP, Dudzinski DM |
Journal | Crit Care Med |
Volume | 45 |
Issue | 12 |
Pagination | e1292-e1296 |
Date Published | 2017 Dec |
ISSN | 1530-0293 |
Keywords | Cardiologists, Certification, Critical Care, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Intensive Care Units, Male, Medicare, Retrospective Studies, United States |
Abstract | OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the characteristics of U.S. physicians who are board certified in cardiology and critical care medicine ("dual-boarded cardiologists"). DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study using a comprehensive database of licensed U.S. physicians linked to Medicare claims. SETTING: The United States. SUBJECTS: Dual-boarded cardiologists. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We used a comprehensive physician database to identify all physicians who were board certified in cardiology and critical care medicine before July 2015. We assessed physicians' characteristics and compared dual-boarded cardiologists with and without active board certification in critical care medicine and estimated the maximum proportion of 2014 Medicare Cardiac ICU admissions treated by dual-boarded cardiologists. Among 473 dual-boarded cardiologists, 16 (3.4%) were women; 468 (99%) and 85 (18%) maintained active board certification in cardiology and critical care medicine, respectively. Overall, 98 dual-boarded cardiologists (21%) submitted 1,215 total claims for critical care services in 2014. Compared to dual-boarded cardiologists without active board certification in critical care medicine, those with active certification had more publications (median publications: 6.5 vs 3.0; p = 0.002), were more likely to be professors (22.3% vs 9.5%; p = 0.003), and were more likely to bill Medicare for critical care services (29% vs 17.8%; p = 0.002). We estimated that no more than 0.47% of all 2014 Medicare Cardiac ICU admissions were treated by a dual-boarded cardiologist. CONCLUSIONS: Dual-boarded cardiologists appear to deliver a small proportion of all Cardiac ICU services received by Medicare beneficiaries. Optimizing the modern Cardiac ICU workforce will require greater efforts to promote and support the training of dual-boarded cardiologists. |
DOI | 10.1097/CCM.0000000000002766 |
Alternate Journal | Crit. Care Med. |
PubMed ID | 29023259 |
Submitted by kej2006 on June 6, 2018 - 4:12pm