Comparing Traditional and Newer Glaucoma Procedures by Physician Experience and Practice Location in the United States.

Prcis: Analysis of CMS Physician Payment data found that physician certification year, degree of urbanization, and estimated income by zip code were significant in predicting the proportion of traditional glaucoma procedures performed by each provider in the United States.

Purpose: The prevalence of microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) compared to traditional procedures has been increasing in glaucoma management. It is important to understand whether the uptake of new glaucoma procedures is associated with aspects of the physician practice.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data on glaucoma procedure distribution, degree of urbanization and physician certification in the United States were extracted from the 2019 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Payment and American Board of Ophthalmology databases. The distribution of traditional and MIGS procedure numbers for metropolitan versus non-metropolitan providers were visualized with boxplots and statistically compared using Mann-Whitney U tests. We used two-dimensional histograms and regression analyses to assess the relationship between certification year and volume of traditional versus MIGS procedures. A multivariable linear regression model was created using certification year, rural-urban commuting area (RUCA) code, and estimated income by practice zip code to predict the number and proportion of each type of glaucoma procedure.

Results: This study included 2625 providers from the CMS physician payment data who performed only traditional procedures (n=370), MIGS procedures (n=1727), or both procedure types (n=528) in 2019. The median number of MIGS procedures performed by each provider was greater in non-metropolitan areas (31 vs. 29, P=0.015) while the proportion of traditional procedures performed by each provider was greater in metropolitan areas (0.24 vs. 0.08, P<0.001). Regression analysis showed a positive relationship between certification year and the proportion of traditional procedures performed by each provider (P<0.001). Multivariable regression models found that certification year, RUCA code, and estimated income of practice location were all significant predictors (P<0.02) of the proportion of traditional procedures performed by each provider.

Conclusion: In the United States, physicians in metropolitan areas and more recent certification years are more likely to perform a larger proportion of traditional procedures. This finding suggests that the distribution of glaucoma procedure types is related to physician factors such as degree of urbanization and duration of practice. More research is needed to better understand how such differences affect patient access and outcomes.