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In recent years, hospitals are increasingly
relying on locum tenens physicians to fill in
for other physicians on a temporary basis,
but little was known about how these
health-care professionals affect patient
outcomes or costs of care.
23.83%
22.80%
In the first study to use national data to
characterize locum tenens physicians’
patterns, researchers compared outcomes
for a random sample of 1,818,873 Medicare
beneficiaries hospitalized between 2009
and 2014 who were treated by locum tenens
and non-locum tenens internal medicine
physicians. Compared with patients treated
by non-locum tenens physicians, those
treated by locum tenens physicians had:
Short on Time
Cancer survivors age faster and die younger, according
to findings from a large literature review published in
ESMO Open.
Compared with the general population, the average life
expectancy for people who have survived childhood cancer
is 30% lower.
• no difference in 30-day mortality:
8.83% vs. 8.70%
Cancer survivors also were more likely to develop long-term
health conditions, such as:
• lower 30-day readmission rates:
22.80% vs. 23.83%
• secondary cancers: 300% to 600% increased risk
8.70%
Mortality
The researchers noted that illness and accelerated aging are
a direct consequence of cancer treatments such as chemo-
therapy and radiotherapy. “While aging prematurely is a
better alternative to dying prematurely, a better understand-
ing of what drives this process presents an opportunity for
improvement,” said corresponding author Shahrukh Hashmi,
MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
• frailty: >200% increased risk
Source: Blumenthal DM, Olenski AR, Tsugawa Y, et
al. Association between treatment by locum tenens
internal medicine physicians and 30-day mortality
among hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries. JAMA.
2017;318:2119-29.
8.83%
Though the findings were “reassuring,”
the authors noted, treatment by locum
tenens physicians was associated with
higher Medicare Part B spending and longer
length of stay.
Source: Cupit-Link MC, Kirkland JL, Ness KK, et al. Biology of premature
ageing in survivors of cancer. ESMO Open. 2017 December 18.
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