Dr. Edward Scudder Mackey of Saint Thomas West Hospital in Nashville Accounted for the Most DRG-460 Discharges for Tennessee Medicare Enrollees with 47 Discharges between October 2015 - September 2016

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By: Jeffrey Maser  Jan. 16, 2018

Dexur’s most recent analysis of Medicare spine discharge data between October 2015 and September 2016 indicates that Dr. Edward Scudder Mackey of Saint Thomas West Hospital in Nashville accounted for 47 DRG-460 discharges for Tennessee Medicare enrollees, the most of any physician. These discharges made up 2.68% of the 1,756 total DRG-460 (Spinal Fusion Except Cervical Without Major Complication or Comorbidity) discharges from Tennessee Medicare enrollees during the time period. Dr. James E. Jolley of CHI Memorial Hospital Chattanooga ranked 2nd with 41 discharges, Dr. Paul H. Johnson of Physicians Regional Medical Center ranked 3rd with 40 discharges, Joseph A. Jestus of Cookeville Regional Medical Center ranked 4th with 38 discharges, and Dr. Todd Abel of University of Tennessee Medical Center ranked 5th with 37 discharges.

DRG-460 was the most common DRG within the spinal discipline during the analyzed period as U.S. Medicare enrollees accounted for 78,771 discharges. The next highest volume spinal diagnosis related group was DRG-473 (Cervical Spinal Fusion Without Complication or Comorbidity / Major Complication or Comorbidity); 27,450 discharges were reported for this DRG, over 50,000 discharges fewer than DRG-460.

Physicians were included in the rankings if they accounted for 11 or more discharges at the DRG level during the analyzed time frame. 56 physicians met this criteria for Medicare enrollees of Tennessee specifically, but only 8 physicians accounted for more than 2% of the total Tennessee Medicare discharges. Furthermore, Dr. Mackey was the only physician to account for more than 2.5% of DRG-460 discharges from Tennessee Medicare enrollees, as Dr. Jolley’s 2nd ranking discharge volume gave him a 2.33% market share at the DRG level within the state.

While Dr. Mackey had the most discharges for Tennessee Medicare enrollees, it is important to note that he did not account for the most total discharges out of all physicians whose main practicing facility was located in the state of Tennessee. That accomplishment belongs to Dr. Rex E.H. Arendall of TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, who performed the majority of his procedures on Kentucky Medicare enrollees. Dr. Arendalls’ 53 DRG-460 discharges for Medicare enrollees of Kentucky ranked him 4th overall in the Kentucky Medicare enrollee DRG-460 discharge volume rankings and his 80 DRG-460 discharges for all U.S. Medicare enrollees ranked him 35th highest in volume out of 2,568 eligible U.S. physicians. However, Dr. Arendall’s 27 DRG-460 discharges for Tennessee Medicare enrollees ranked him only 15th highest for Tennessee enrollees.

Top 10 Highest Volume Physicians for DRG-460 from Tennessee Medicare Enrollees
Discharge Volume Rank	Physician Name	Practicing Hospital	Practicing Hospital City	Total Discharges for Tennessee Medicare Enrollees	% of Tennessee Medicare Enrollee Discharges
	All Physicians			1,756	100.00
1	Edward Scudder Mackey	Saint Thomas West Hospital	Nashville	47	2.68
2	James E. Jolley	CHI Memorial Hospital Chattanooga	Chattanooga	41	2.33
3	Paul H. Johnson	Physicians Regional Medical Center	Knoxville	40	2.28
4	Joseph A Jestus	Cookeville Regional Medical Center	Cookeville	38	2.16
5	Todd Abel	University of Tennessee Medical Center	Knoxville	37	2.11
6	Michael James Mcnamara	Williamson Medical Center	Franklin	36	2.05
7	James Kimbro Maguire	Physicians Regional Medical Center	Knoxville	36	2.05
8	Carl R Hampf	Saint Thomas Hospital for Special Surgery	Nashville	36	2.05
9	John William Klekamp	Williamson Medical Center	Franklin	34	1.94
10	James M Fish	TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center	Smyrna	31	1.77

DEXUR PRO MEMBERS GET ACCESS TO:

1. Total DRG-460 Discharges for U.S. Medicare Enrollees, National Discharge Volume Ranking and Tennessee Physician Total Discharge Volume Ranking for the Top 10 Highest Volume Tennessee Physicians for DRG-460 Discharges from U.S. Medicare Enrollees

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