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Previous studies have shown that comanagement of surgical patients by medicine physicians (generalists or internal medicine subspecialists) is associated with fewer postoperative complications, shorter lengths of stay, lower readmission rates, and higher nurse and surgeon satisfaction.
In a retrospective cohort study of Medicare patients, researchers examined the extent of comanagement among patients who had been hospitalized for 1 of 15 inpatient surgical procedures from 1996 to 2006. Each patient was categorized as comanaged or not (comanagement was defined arbitrarily as a patient's medicine physician submitting a claim for evaluation and management services on 70% or more of the days that the patient was hospitalized).
During the study pe…