Table 1.
Provider and practice characteristics for all baseline (2006-07) carotid revascularization procedures. Values are crude numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | Total | Cardiology | General surgery | Neurosurgery | Interventional radiology | Vascular surgery | Thoracic surgery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No of physicians | 9158 | 1014 (11.1) | 2845 (31.1) | 367 (4.0) | 1585 (17.3) | 1904 (20.8) | 1443 (15.8) |
| Female sex | 412 (4.5) | 20 (2.0) | 156 (5.5) | 10 (2.7) | 76 (4.8) | 120 (6.3) | 30 (2.1) |
| Clinical trial participation | 733 (8.0) | 176 (17.4) | 54 (1.9) | 56 (15.2) | 94 (5.9) | 228 (12.0) | 123 (8.5) |
| Mean (median and 90th centile) No of publications | 6.7 (0, 15) | 8.5 (,1 19) | 2.5 (0, 4) | 23.5 (4, 74) | 4.6 (0, 10) | 10.8 (1, 32) | 6.2 (0, 14) |
| Experience (years): | |||||||
| <12 | 1365 (14.9) | 122 (12.0) | 424 (14.9) | 63 (17.1) | 330 (20.8) | 293 (15.4) | 127 (8.8) |
| 13-24 | 4460 (48.7) | 579 (57.1) | 1186 (41.7) | 169 (45.9) | 972 (61.3) | 899 (47.2) | 658 (45.6) |
| ≥25 | 3333 (36.4) | 313 (30.9) | 1236 (43.4) | 136 (37.0) | 284 (17.9) | 712 (37.2) | 658 (45.6) |
| Group size: | |||||||
| 1 provider | 1584 (17.3) | 57 (5.6) | 805 (28.3) | 48 (13.0) | 27 (1.7) | 360 (18.9) | 287 (19.9) |
| 2-19 providers | 3828 (41.8) | 356 (35.1) | 1251 (44.0) | 125 (34.0) | 634 (40.1) | 748 (39.3) | 711 (49.3) |
| ≥20 providers | 3746 (40.9) | 601 (59.3) | 789 (27.7) | 195 (53.0) | 922 (58.2) | 796 (41.8) | 445 (30.8) |
| % decline in carotid revascularization | 37.7 | 77.5 | 51.7 | 53.1 | 73.0 | 32.3 | 37.7 |
| % decline in carotid revascularization in patients >80 years | 42.1 | 79.6 | 49.2 | 57.8 | 78.1 | 35.8 | 34.5 |
The percentagechange in total number of procedures was calculated for each physician during the study period to control for providers approaching retirement and scaling down their practice.