Table IV.
Characteristics of testing cohort in simulation
| Remained at original hospital (n = 852) | Moved in simulation to higher-performing hospital (n = 662) |
P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (y) | 69.2 (10.8) | 69.1 (11.1) | .863 |
| Female sex | 589 (69.1) | 446 (67.4) | .465 |
| Race | .004 | ||
| Black | 48 (5.6) | 56 (8.5) | |
| White | 738 (86.6) | 531 (80.2) | |
| Other | 66 (7.7) | 75 (11.3) | |
| Dual eligible | 202 (23.7) | 138 (20.8) | .185 |
| Claims-based frailty index | 0.160 (0.055) | 0.166 (0.061) | .066 |
| Cancer histology | .294 | ||
| Papillary | 779 (91.4) | 615 (92.9) | |
| Follicular | 73 (8.6) | 47 (7.1) | .645 |
| SEER summary stage | |||
| In situ | <11 (<1.3) | <11 (<1.7) | |
| Local | >601 (>70.5) | >454 (>68.5) | |
| Regional | 212 (24.9) | 167 (25.2) | |
| Distant | 27 (3.2) | 19 (2.9) | |
| Unstaged | <11 (<1.3) | 11 (1.7) | |
| Selected comorbidities before surgery | |||
| Vocal cord dysfunction | 23 (2.7) | 29 (4.4) | .075 |
| Hypocalcemia | 21 (2.5) | 20 (3.0) | .508 |
| Tracheostomy | <11 (<1.3) | <11 (<1.7) | .858 |
| Hypothyroidism | 395 (46.4) | 314 (47.4) | .679 |
| Procedure type | .197 | ||
| Partial thyroidectomy | 214 (25.1) | 149 (22.5) | |
| Total thyroidectomy | 425 (49.9) | 361 (54.5) | |
| Total thyroidectomy with neck dissection | 213 (25.0) | 152 (23.0) | |
| Visit type | .162 | ||
| Inpatient | 252 (29.6) | 218 (32.9) | |
| Outpatient | 600 (70.4) | 444 (67.1) | |
| ICD era | .261 | ||
| ICD-9 | 445 (52.2) | 365 (55.1) | |
| ICD-10 | 407 (47.8) | 297 (44.9) | |
| Distance from home to original hospital, median (IQI) | 15.00 (6.62–36.65) | 8.60 (4.30–16.05) | < .001 |
Results are presented as n (%). Due to restrictions of the data use agreement, cell counts >0 and <11 are depicted as <11. Patients in the testing cohort were included in the simulation if they received care from a hospital that was ranked using the training cohort. Patients with an unranked original hospital were thus excluded (n = 259). Patients were eligible for simulated care at a higher-quality hospital if a hospital in a higher quartile with >10 cases was identified at ≤30 miles.
ICD, International Classification of Diseases; ICD-9, ICD, Ninth Revision; ICD-10, ICD, Tenth Revision; IQI, interquartile interval; SEER, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results.