Determinants of patient mobility for prostate cancer surgery: a population-based study of choice and competition

Aggarwal, Ajay, Lewis, Daniel, Charman, Susan C., Mason, Malcolm ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1505-2869, Clarke, Noel, Sullivan, Richard and van der Meulen, Jan 2018. Determinants of patient mobility for prostate cancer surgery: a population-based study of choice and competition. European Urology 73 (6) , pp. 822-825. 10.1016/j.eururo.2017.07.013

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Abstract

Many countries have introduced policies that enable patients to select a health care provider of their choice with the aim of improving the quality of care. However, there is little information about the drivers or the impact of patient mobility. Using administrative hospital data (n = 19 256) we analysed the mobility of prostate cancer patients who had radical surgery in England between 2010 and 2014. Our analysis, using geographic information systems and multivariable choice modelling, found that 33·5% (n = 6465) of men bypassed their nearest prostate cancer surgical centre. Travel time had a strong impact on where patients moved to but was less of a factor for men who were younger, fitter, and more affluent (p always < 0.001). Men were more likely to move to hospitals that provided robotic prostate cancer surgery (odds ratio: 1.42, p < 0.001) and to hospitals that employed surgeons with a strong media reputation (odds ratio: 2.18, p < 0.001). Patient mobility occurred in the absence of validated measures of the quality of care, instead influenced by the adoption of robotic surgery and the reputation of individual clinicians. National policy based on patient choice and provider competition may have had a negative impact on equality of access, service capacity, and health system efficiency.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0302-2838
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 February 2020
Date of Acceptance:	11 July 2017
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 05:40
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/129641

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