For many conditions, the treatment a patient receives can depend more on physician recommendations than patient preferences. A new series of reports from the Dartmouth Atlas Project suggests that when there is more than one option, where patients live and the clinicians they see also play a decisive role in the treatment they receive. The nine regional reports analyze care provided across the country, specifically focusing on trends in elective, or “preference-sensitive,” procedures.
Emphasizing the importance of choice in health care, the reports look at how Medicare patients differ in receiving treatments for early-stage breast cancer, stable angina, low back pain, arthritis of the knee or hip, carotid artery disease, gallstones, enlarged prostate, and early-stage prostate cancer. Researchers emphasize the importance of patients working with their health care team to make a shared decision based on the best evidence and their values.
Read the nine regional reports:
- New England (Conn., Maine, Mass., N.H., R.I., Vt.)
- Middle Atlantic (N.J., N.Y., Pa.)
- South Atlantic (Del., Wash. D.C., Ga., Fla., Md., N.C., S.C., Va., W. Va.)
- Great Lakes (Ill., Ind., Mich., Ohio, Wis.)
- East South Central (Ala., Ky., Miss., Tenn.)
- Great Plains (Iowa, Kan., Minn., Mo., Neb., N.D., S.D.)
- West South Central (Ark., La., Okla., Texas)
- Mountain States (Ariz., Colo., Idaho, Mt., Nev., N.M., Utah, Wyo.)
- Pacific States (Alaska, Calif., Hawaii, Ore., Wash.)
Learn more about the Dartmouth Atlas Project >
