Association of Discretionary Hospital Volume Standards for High-risk Cancer Surgery With Patient Outcomes and Access, 2005-2016

IMPORTANCE: Various clinical societies and patient advocacy organizations continue to encourage minimum volume standards at hospitals that perform certain high-risk operations. Although many clinicians and quality and safety experts believe this can improve outcomes, the extent to which hospitals have responded to these discretionary standards remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between short-term clinical outcomes and hospitals’ adherence to the Leapfrog Group’s minimum volume standards for high-risk cancer surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Longitudinal cohort study using 100% of the Medicare claims for 516 392 patients undergoing pancreatic, esophageal, rectal, or lung resection for cancer between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2016. Data were accessed between December 1, 2018, and April 30, 2019. EXPOSURES: High-risk cancer surgery in hospitals meeting and not meeting the minimum volume standards. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Patients having surgery in hospitals meeting the volume standard and 30-day and in-hospital mortality and complication rates. RESULTS: Overall, a total of 516 392 procedures (47 318 pancreatic resections, 29 812 esophageal resections, 116 383 rectal resections, and 322 879 lung resections) were included in the study, and patient mean (SD) age was 73.1 (7.5) years. Outcomes improved over time in both hospitals meeting and not meeting the minimum volume standards. Mortality after pancreatic resection decreased from 5.5% in 2005 to 4.8% in 2016 (P for trend