A recent study found that hospital geographic market boundaries often differ from actual patient travel patterns, indicating that hospital service areas may not accurately define patient populations, Medscape reported.
The study, published Nov. 5 in Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed healthcare utilization data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey between 2018 and 2021. Researchers examined a total of 825,292 office visits, 23,334 emergency department visits and 10,552 inpatient stays. They then used an online geographic information system to geocode patient and provider addresses, assess travel times, and determine if visits occurred within various counties.
Here are four findings from the study:
- Emergency department visits: 74.8% occurred within the patient’s county, 81.3% were within 30 minutes of their home and 92.4% were within 60 minutes of their home.
- Inpatient stays: 63.3% were within the patient’s county, and 86.4% were within 60 minutes of their home.
- Hospital referral regions: Defined by a travel time of 85.4 minutes, this measure most closely reflected patient patterns, with 86.4% of inpatient hospital stays among patients who traveled 60 minutes or less.
- Zip code alignment: Zip codes showed the weakest correlation with patient travel. Only 21.6% of office visits were among patients who lived within the provider's zip code, while 53.8% of patients drove less than 15 minutes to their appointment.