Pro-con debate on regionalization of emergency general surgery: controversy or common sense?

Heena Santry; Lillian S Kao; Shahid Shafi; Lawrence Lottenberg; Marie Crandall

doi:10.1136/tsaco-2019-000319

Pro-con debate on regionalization of emergency general surgery: controversy or common sense?

Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2019 May 19;4(1):e000319. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2019-000319. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Heena Santry¹, Lillian S Kao², Shahid Shafi³, Lawrence Lottenberg⁴, Marie Crandall⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery and Center for Surgical Health Assessment, Research and Policy, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
² Surgery, McGovern Medical School at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
³ Department of Surgery, Baylor Health Care System, Dallas, Texas, USA.
⁴ Department of Surgery, Charles E Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
⁵ Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine - Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida, USA.

Abstract

More than three million patients every year develop emergency general surgical (EGS) conditions and this number is rising. EGS diseases range from straightforward to potentially life-threatening, and if severe or complex may require extensive resources. Given the looming surgeon shortage and concerns about access to care, regionalization of EGS care, in a manner similar to trauma care, has been proposed. We present a unique pro-con debate highlighting the salient arguments for and against regionalization of EGS care in the USA.

Keywords: emergency general surgery; regional; resource allocation.

Grants and funding

R01 HS022694/HS/AHRQ HHS/United States