Surgeon reimbursement for trauma care

Background Trauma care is a well-known financial burden for hospitals, yet reimbursement for the surgeon has not been reported. Methods For 1999, the percent of the surgeons’ bills reimbursed for general surgery services (gPR) was compared with that for trauma services (tPR). Mean tPR for various groups were compared. Factors predictive of tPR lower than gPR were identified. Results The gPR was 49%, and, for 371 trauma patients, tPR was 45% (P = 0.03). The mean tPR for injury severity score (ISS) ≤10 was 48%, and for ISS ≥11, 57% (P = 0.03). Patients transferred from outside facilities did not have a significantly lower mean tPR. Penetrating trauma (odds ratio 3.7, P = 0.008) was predictive of tPR lower than gPR. Conclusions Surgeon reimbursements for trauma care was significantly, yet only slightly less than for all general surgery care. Surgeons should not be reluctant to take trauma call based on perceptions of low reimbursement.