• Peter M Fleischut, Jonathan M Eskreis-Winkler, Licia K Gaber-Baylis, Gregory P Giambrone, Xian Wu, Xuming Sun, Cynthia A Lien, Susan L Faggiani, Richard P Dutton, and Stavros G Memtsoudis.
• P.M. Fleischut is associate professor of anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, and attending anesthesiologist, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York. J.M. Eskreis-Winkler is research assistant, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. L.K. Gaber-Baylis is senior SAS programmer, Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. G.P. Giambrone is staff associate, Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. X. Wu is research biostatistician, Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. X. Sun is research biostatistician, Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. C.A. Lien is professor of anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, and attending anesthesiologist, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York. S.L. Faggiani is quality and patient safety administrator, Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. R.P. Dutton is clinical associate, University of Chicago, and executive director, Anesthesia Quality Institute, American Society of Anesthesiologists, Park Ridge, Illinois. S.G. Memtsoudis is attending anesthesiologist and senior scientist, Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital for Special Surgery, and clinical professor of anesthesiology and public health, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York.
• Acad Med. 2016 Jan 1; 91 (1): 79-86.

PurposeThe presumption that board certification directly affects the quality of clinical care is a topic of ongoing discussion in medical literature. Recent studies have demonstrated disparities in patient outcomes associated with type of anesthesia provided for total knee arthroplasty (TKA); improved outcomes are associated with neuraxial (or regional) versus general anesthesia. Whether board-certified (BC) and non-board-certified (nBC) anesthesiologists make different choices in the anesthetic they administer is unknown. The authors sought to study potential associations of board certification status with anesthesia practice patterns for TKA.MethodThe authors accessed records of anesthetics provided from 2010 to 2013 from the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry database. They identified TKA cases using Clinical Classifications Software and Current Procedural Terminology codes. The authors divided practitioners into two groups: those who were BC and those who were nBC. For each of these groups, the authors compared the following: their patient populations, the hospitals in which they worked, the nature of their practices, and the anesthetics they administered to their patients.ResultsBC anesthesiologists provided care for 81.7% of 97,508 patients having TKA; 18.3% were treated by nBC anesthesiologists. BC anesthesiologists administered neuraxial/regional anesthesia more frequently than nBC anesthesiologists (41.4% versus 21.2%; P < .001).ConclusionsThe rates at which regional/neuraxial anesthesia were administered for TKA were relatively low, and there were significant differences in practice patterns of BC and nBC anesthesiologists providing care for patients undergoing TKA. More research is necessary to understand the causes of these disparities.

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