More rural Medicare beneficiaries elect joint replacement surgery than urban recipients
Monday, November 30, 2009 - 08:14
in Health & Medicine
Southern Illinois University researchers determined Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas were 27% more likely than urban recipients to have total knee or hip replacement surgeries. Researchers found women were more likely than men to undergo total joint replacement surgeries. Differences in elective joint surgeries between white individuals and minorities in both rural and urban areas were observed, but were less pronounced in rural settings. Full findings appear in the in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology.