5 Key Takeaways

• 1

  The study found no significant differences in 30-day mortality, readmissions, or length of stay between MD and DO surgeons.

• 2

  Researchers analyzed 2,360,108 procedures performed by 43,651 surgeons using Medicare data from 2016 to 2019.

• 3

  The mean patient age was 74.9 years, with 57.4% female and 89.4% White among the study population.

• 4

  DO surgeons treated older patients and a higher percentage of female and Medicaid dual-eligible patients compared to MDs.

• 5

  DO surgeons performed fewer elective surgeries and were more likely to practice in public and non-teaching hospitals.