Annals of surgery
-
To explore the use of an episode grouper to more accurately identify the complete set of surgical services typically provided in a surgical episode of care and the corresponding range of prices, using colectomy for cancer as the example. ⋯ Episode groupers are a potentially valuable tool for identifying variations in service mix and teaming patterns that correlate with a total price. By looking at patient care holistically, stakeholders can identify opportunities for price transparency and care redesign that have heretofore been hidden.