Researchers from Brown University Detail New Studies and Findings in the Area of Managed Care (In Patients With Rotator Cuff Tears, Female, Hispanic, African American, Asian, Socially Deprived, Federally Insured, and Uninsured Patients Are Less …): Managed Care

Health Policy and Law Daily

2025 MAR 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Current study results on Managed Care have been published. According to news originating from Providence, Rhode Island, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “To evaluate socioeconomic factors affecting whether a patient undergoes rotator cuff repair after a diagnosis of a rotator cuff tear. From 2009 through 2018, claims for adult (>= 18 years of age) patients who were diagnosed with a primary rotator cuff injury were identified in the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) database via International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9th Revision-Clinical Modification (CM) and ICD10-CM diagnostic codes.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Brown University, “SPARCS is a comprehensive all-payer database collecting all inpatient and outpatient preadjudicated claims in New York. ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM codes were used to identify the initial diagnosis for each patient. Current Procedural Terminology codes were used to identify subsequent rotator cuff surgery. The procedures identified were linked with the initial diagnosis, and patients were noted as either having or not having rotator cuff surgery. Logistic regression analysis was performed for variables including age, sex, race, Social Deprivation Index (SDI), Charlson Comorbidity Index, and primary insurance type to determine the effect of patient factors on the likelihood of having surgery after a diagnosis of rotator cuff injury. Of the 67,584 rotator cuff patients included in the analysis, 19,770 (29.3%) of the patients underwent surgical intervention. From the logistic regression, females relative to males (odds ratio [OR] = 0.798, P< .0001), increased SDI (OR = 0.994, p< .0001), African American compared with White race (OR = 0.694, P< .0001), Asian compared with White (OR = 0.832, P< .0001), Hispanic compared with White (OR = 0.693, P< .0001), other race (OR = 0.58, P< .0001), those with Medicare (OR = 0.601, P< .0001) or Medicaid (OR = 0.614, P< .0001) relative to private insurance, and self-pay relative to private insurance (OR = 0.727, P< .0001) were all associated with decreased odds of undergoing rotator cuff surgery. Older patients (OR = 1.012, P< .0001) and Workers’ Compensation relative to private insurance (OR = 1.664, P< .0001) had increased odds of undergoing surgery. The results of the current study identified disparities in the likelihood of undergoing rotator cuff repair after a diagnosis of a rotator cuff tear based on patient demographic and socioeconomic factors.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Individuals with higher SDI; African American, Asian, Hispanic, or other non-White races; and those with Medicare, Medicaid, or self-pay insurance had decreased odds of surgery, whereas older age and Workers’ Compensation insurance were associated with increased odds of undergoing surgery.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: In Patients With Rotator Cuff Tears, Female, Hispanic, African American, Asian, Socially Deprived, Federally Insured, and Uninsured Patients Are Less Commonly Treated Surgically. Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery, 2025;41(3). Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery can be contacted at: W B Saunders Co-elsevier Inc, 1600 John F Kennedy Boulevard, Ste 1800, Philadelphia, PA 19103-2899, USA.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Matthew Quinn, Brown University, Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery, Brown University School of Medicine, 222 Richmond St, Providence, RI 02903, United States. Additional authors for this research include Stephen E. Marcaccio, Edward J. Testa, Joseph A. Gil and Aristides I. Cruz Jr.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arthro.2024.05.031. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.