Geographic variation in Health Care

One of the coolest things on the web, and something that every health care researcher should know about is the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. The current map shows us that 48% of the chronically ill patients in Las Vegas saw 10 or more different physicians in the last six months of life; while less than 17% in Alaska did.

what is supply-sensitive care and why is it important? It is care whose frequency of use is not determined by well-articulated medical theory, much less by scientific evidence. supply-sensitive services include physician visits, diagnostic tests, hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care among patients with chronic illnesses. Finally, as dartmouth atlas Project research hasdemonstrated, the use of supply-sensitive care varies widely across the u.s. and is overused in many regions. this is where roemer’s law comes into play – the most important determinant of this variation is the area’s supply of hospital beds, physician specialists, etc. where there isgreater capacity, more care is delivered – whether or not it is warranted