Use of patient-sharing techniques to study healthcare provider networks: a scoping review_Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine

Authors：

YANG Yu ¹ , HU Huajie ¹ , HUANG Tao ¹ , GONG Zhiwen ¹ ,  GUAN Xiaodong ^1,2 , SHI Luwen ^1,2

1. Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100191, P. R. China;
2. International Research Center for Medicinal Administration, Peking University, Beijing 100191, P. R. China;

Corresponding author：

GUAN Xiaodong, Email: guanxiaodong@pku.edu.cn

Keywords：

Patient-sharing; Healthcare provider; Social network analysis; Scoping review

DOI：

10.7507/1672-2531.202206062

Video：

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Abstract Full text Figures/Tables Video References Cited by

Objective To provide a scoping review of the healthcare provider patient-sharing network. Methods PubMed, EMbase, Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science Core Collection, ScienceDirect, SAGE, Wiley Online Library, Google Scholar, CNKI and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect studies on patient-sharing network of healthcare providers from inception to July 31, 2021. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and then Arksey and O 'Malley's scoping review method was used to analyze the study. Results A total of 110 studies were included. In which, 70.0% were published in 2016 and later, 78.2% were carried out in the United States, 96.4% used secondary data, and 45.5% adopted social network analysis methods such as exponential random graph model. In terms of network characteristics, 43.6% of the studies adopted the theoretical framework of social network theory, and the network node type was mainly 1-mode, accounting for 87.3%. When constructing the physician patient-sharing networks, 64.5% of the studies had a threshold of 1 patient. We also synthesized existing studies on patient-sharing networks of healthcare providers in the light of factors of networks and related outcomes. Conclusion The studies of healthcare provider patient-sharing network have potentials to improve clinical practice and health policies. Further studies should consider adopting longitudinal design to validate evidence of study, expanding the scope of study subjects except physicians and enriching the evidence of the relationship between network and health-related outcomes.

Citation： YANG Yu, HU Huajie, HUANG Tao, GONG Zhiwen, GUAN Xiaodong, SHI Luwen. Use of patient-sharing techniques to study healthcare provider networks: a scoping review. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2023, 23(2): 197-202. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.202206062 Copy

1.	Glegg SMN, Jenkins E, Kothari A. How the study of networks informs knowledge translation and implementation: a scoping review. Implement Sci, 2019, 14(1): 34.
2.	van Kleef E, Robotham JV, Jit M, et al. Modelling the transmission of healthcare associated infections: a systematic review. BMC Infect Dis, 2013, 13: 294.
3.	Shelton RC, Lee M, Brotzman LE, et al. Use of social network analysis in the development, dissemination, implementation, and sustainability of health behavior interventions for adults: A systematic review. Soc Sci Med, 2019, 220: 81-101.
4.	Firth JA, Hellewell J, Klepac P, et al. Using a real-world network to model localized COVID-19 control strategies. Nat Med, 2020, 26(10): 1616-1622.
5.	He Z, Zhang CJP, Huang J, et al. A new era of epidemiology: digital epidemiology for investigating the COVID-19 outbreak in China. J Med Internet Res, 2020, 22(9): e21685.
6.	Arksey HOML. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framewor. Inter J Social Res Method, 2005, 8(1): 19-32.
7.	Chambers D, Wilson P, Thompson C, et al. Social network analysis in healthcare settings: a systematic scoping review. PLoS One, 2012, 7(8): e41911.
8.	Sabot K, Wickremasinghe D, Blanchet K, et al. Use of social network analysis methods to study professional advice and performance among healthcare providers: a systematic review. Syst Rev, 2017, 6(1): 208.
9.	DuGoff EH, Fernandes-Taylor S, Weissman GE, et al. A scoping review of patient-sharing network studies using administrative data. Transl Behav Med, 2018, 8(4): 598-625.
10.	Holly CSS, Saimbert M. Comprehensive systematic review for advanced nursing practice. New York: Springer, 2012: 86.
11.	McKinstry C, Brown T, Gustafsson L. Scoping reviews in occupational therapy: the what, why, and how to. Aust Occup Ther J, 2014, 61(2): 58-66.
12.	Bridewell W, Das AK. Social network analysis of physician interactions: the effect of institutional boundaries on breast cancer care. AMIA Annu Symp Proc, 2011, 2011: 152-160.
13.	Geissler KH, Lubin B, Ericson KMM. The role of organizational affiliations in physician patient-sharing relationships. Med Care Res Rev, 2020, 77(2): 165-175.
14.	Lee BY, McGlone SM, Song Y, et al. Social network analysis of patient sharing among hospitals in Orange County, California. Am J Public Health, 2011, 101(4): 707-713.
15.	Landon BE, Keating NL, Barnett ML, et al. Variation in patient-sharing networks of physicians across the United States. JAMA, 2012, 308(3): 265-273.
16.	Yaraghi N, Du AY, Sharman R, et al. Professional and geographical network effects on healthcare information exchange growth: does proximity really matter. J Am Med Inform Assoc, 2014, 21(4): 671-678.
17.	Geissler KH, Lubin B, Ericson KMM. The association of insurance plan characteristics with physician patient-sharing network structure. Int J Health Econ Manag, 2021, 21(2): 189-201.
18.	Pollack CE, Weissman G, Bekelman J, et al. Physician social networks and variation in prostate cancer treatment in three cities. Health Serv Res, 2012, 47(1 Pt 2): 380-403.
19.	Pollack CE, Soulos PR, Gross CP. Physician's peer exposure and the adoption of a new cancer treatment modality. Cancer, 2015, 121(16): 2799-2807.
20.	Pollack CE, Soulos PR, Herrin J, et al. The impact of social contagion on physician adoption of advanced imaging tests in breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst, 2017, 109(8): djw330.
21.	Shi Y, Pollack CE, Soulos PR, et al. Association between degrees of separation in physician networks and surgeons' use of perioperative breast magnetic resonance imaging. Med Care, 2019, 57(6): 460-467.
22.	Donohue JM, Guclu H, Gellad WF, et al. Influence of peer networks on physician adoption of new drugs. PLoS One, 2018, 13(10): e0204826.
23.	McClellan C, Flottemesch TJ, Ali MM, et al. Physician networks and potentially inappropriate opioid prescriptions. J Addict Dis, 2020, 38(3): 301-310.
24.	Ong MS, Olson KL, Cami A, et al. Provider patient-sharing networks and multiple-provider prescribing of benzodiazepines. J Gen Intern Med, 2016, 31(2): 164-171.
25.	Ong MS, Olson KL, Chadwick L, et al. The impact of provider networks on the co-prescriptions of interacting drugs: a claims-based analysis. Drug Saf, 2017, 40(3): 263-272.
26.	Simmering JE, Polgreen LA, Campbell DR, et al. Hospital transfer network structure as a risk factor for clostridium difficile infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 2015, 36(9): 1031-1037.
27.	Sewell DK, Simmering JE, Justice S, et al. Estimating the attributable disease burden and effects of interhospital patient sharing on clostridium difficile infections. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 2019, 40(6): 656-661.
28.	Ray MJ, Lin MY, Weinstein RA, et al. Spread of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae among illinois healthcare facilities: the role of patient sharing. Clin Infect Dis, 2016, 63(7): 889-893.
29.	Donker T, Wallinga J, Grundmann H. Patient referral patterns and the spread of hospital-acquired infections through national health care networks. PLoS Comput Biol, 2010, 6(3): e1000715.
30.	Moen EL, Bynum JP, Austin AM, et al. Assessing variation in implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy guideline adherence with physician and hospital patient-sharing networks. Med Care, 2018, 56(4): 350-357.
31.	Everson J, Adler-Milstein JR, Hollingsworth JM, et al. Dispersion in the hospital network of shared patients is associated with less efficient care. Health Care Manage Rev, 2022, 47(2): 88-99.
32.	Kim D, Funk RJ, Yan P, et al. Informal clinical integration in medicare accountable care organizations and mortality following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Med Care, 2019, 57(3): 194-201.
33.	Hollingsworth JM, Funk RJ, Garrison SA, et al. Association between physician teamwork and health system outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes, 2016, 9(6): 641-648.
34.	Hussain T, Chang HY, Veenstra CM, et al. Collaboration between surgeons and medical oncologists and outcomes for patients with stage Ⅲ colon cancer. J Oncol Pract, 2015, 11(3): e388-e397.
35.	Uddin S, Hossain L, Kelaher M. Effect of physician collaboration network on hospitalization cost and readmission rate. Eur J Public Health, 2012, 22(5): 629-633.
36.	Evan Pollack C, Wang H, Bekelman JE, et al. Physician social networks and variation in rates of complications after radical prostatectomy. Value Health, 2014, 17(5): 611-618.
37.	Pollack CE, Lemke KW, Roberts E, et al. Patient sharing and quality of care: measuring outcomes of care coordination using claims data. Med Care, 2015, 53(4): 317-323.
38.	Moen EL, Austin AM, Bynum JP, et al. An analysis of patient-sharing physician networks and implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy. Health Serv Outcomes Res Methodol, 2016, 16(3): 132-153.
39.	Uddin S, Kelaher M, Srinivasan U. A framework for administrative claim data to explore healthcare coordination and collaboration. Aust Health Rev, 2016, 40(5): 500-510.
40.	Gandré C, Beauguitte L, Lolivier A, et al. Care coordination for severe mental health disorders: an analysis of healthcare provider patient-sharing networks and their association with quality of care in a French region. BMC Health Serv Res, 2020, 20(1): 548.
41.	Pollack CE, Weissman GE, Lemke KW, et al. Patient sharing among physicians and costs of care: a network analytic approach to care coordination using claims data. J Gen Intern Med, 2013, 28(3): 459-465.
42.	Pollack CE, Frick KD, Herbert RJ, et al. It's who you know: patient-sharing, quality, and costs of cancer survivorship care. J Cancer Surviv, 2014, 8(2): 156-166.
43.	Lublóy Á, Keresztúri JL, Benedek G. Formal professional relationships between general practitioners and specialists in shared care: possible associations with patient health and pharmacy costs. Appl Health Econ Health Policy, 2016, 14(2): 217-227.
44.	Geissler KH, Lubin B, Ericson KMM. The association between patient sharing network structure and healthcare costs. PLoS One, 2020, 15(6): e0234990.
45.	Uddin MS, Hossain L. Social networks enabled coordination model for cost management of patient hospital admissions. J Healthc Qual, 2011, 33(5): 37-48.
46.	Barnett ML, Christakis NA, O'Malley J, et al. Physician patient-sharing networks and the cost and intensity of care in US hospitals. Med Care, 2012, 50(2): 152-160.
47.	Landon BE, Keating NL, Onnela JP, et al. Patient-sharing networks of physicians and health care utilization and spending among Medicare beneficiaries. JAMA Intern Med, 2018, 178(1): 66-73.
48.	Stecher C. Physician network connections to specialists and HIV quality of care. Health Serv Res, 2021, 56(5): 908-918.
49.	Uddin S. Exploring the impact of different multi-level measures of physician communities in patient-centric care networks on healthcare outcomes: A multi-level regression approach. Sci Rep, 2016, 6: 20222.
50.	DuGoff EH, Cho J, Si Y, et al. Geographic variations in physician relationships over time: implications for care coordination. Med Care Res Rev, 2018, 75(5): 586-611.

1. Glegg SMN, Jenkins E, Kothari A. How the study of networks informs knowledge translation and implementation: a scoping review. Implement Sci, 2019, 14(1): 34.
2. van Kleef E, Robotham JV, Jit M, et al. Modelling the transmission of healthcare associated infections: a systematic review. BMC Infect Dis, 2013, 13: 294.
3. Shelton RC, Lee M, Brotzman LE, et al. Use of social network analysis in the development, dissemination, implementation, and sustainability of health behavior interventions for adults: A systematic review. Soc Sci Med, 2019, 220: 81-101.
4. Firth JA, Hellewell J, Klepac P, et al. Using a real-world network to model localized COVID-19 control strategies. Nat Med, 2020, 26(10): 1616-1622.
5. He Z, Zhang CJP, Huang J, et al. A new era of epidemiology: digital epidemiology for investigating the COVID-19 outbreak in China. J Med Internet Res, 2020, 22(9): e21685.
6. Arksey HOML. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framewor. Inter J Social Res Method, 2005, 8(1): 19-32.
7. Chambers D, Wilson P, Thompson C, et al. Social network analysis in healthcare settings: a systematic scoping review. PLoS One, 2012, 7(8): e41911.
8. Sabot K, Wickremasinghe D, Blanchet K, et al. Use of social network analysis methods to study professional advice and performance among healthcare providers: a systematic review. Syst Rev, 2017, 6(1): 208.
9. DuGoff EH, Fernandes-Taylor S, Weissman GE, et al. A scoping review of patient-sharing network studies using administrative data. Transl Behav Med, 2018, 8(4): 598-625.
10. Holly CSS, Saimbert M. Comprehensive systematic review for advanced nursing practice. New York: Springer, 2012: 86.
11. McKinstry C, Brown T, Gustafsson L. Scoping reviews in occupational therapy: the what, why, and how to. Aust Occup Ther J, 2014, 61(2): 58-66.
12. Bridewell W, Das AK. Social network analysis of physician interactions: the effect of institutional boundaries on breast cancer care. AMIA Annu Symp Proc, 2011, 2011: 152-160.
13. Geissler KH, Lubin B, Ericson KMM. The role of organizational affiliations in physician patient-sharing relationships. Med Care Res Rev, 2020, 77(2): 165-175.
14. Lee BY, McGlone SM, Song Y, et al. Social network analysis of patient sharing among hospitals in Orange County, California. Am J Public Health, 2011, 101(4): 707-713.
15. Landon BE, Keating NL, Barnett ML, et al. Variation in patient-sharing networks of physicians across the United States. JAMA, 2012, 308(3): 265-273.
16. Yaraghi N, Du AY, Sharman R, et al. Professional and geographical network effects on healthcare information exchange growth: does proximity really matter. J Am Med Inform Assoc, 2014, 21(4): 671-678.
17. Geissler KH, Lubin B, Ericson KMM. The association of insurance plan characteristics with physician patient-sharing network structure. Int J Health Econ Manag, 2021, 21(2): 189-201.
18. Pollack CE, Weissman G, Bekelman J, et al. Physician social networks and variation in prostate cancer treatment in three cities. Health Serv Res, 2012, 47(1 Pt 2): 380-403.
19. Pollack CE, Soulos PR, Gross CP. Physician's peer exposure and the adoption of a new cancer treatment modality. Cancer, 2015, 121(16): 2799-2807.
20. Pollack CE, Soulos PR, Herrin J, et al. The impact of social contagion on physician adoption of advanced imaging tests in breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst, 2017, 109(8): djw330.
21. Shi Y, Pollack CE, Soulos PR, et al. Association between degrees of separation in physician networks and surgeons' use of perioperative breast magnetic resonance imaging. Med Care, 2019, 57(6): 460-467.
22. Donohue JM, Guclu H, Gellad WF, et al. Influence of peer networks on physician adoption of new drugs. PLoS One, 2018, 13(10): e0204826.
23. McClellan C, Flottemesch TJ, Ali MM, et al. Physician networks and potentially inappropriate opioid prescriptions. J Addict Dis, 2020, 38(3): 301-310.
24. Ong MS, Olson KL, Cami A, et al. Provider patient-sharing networks and multiple-provider prescribing of benzodiazepines. J Gen Intern Med, 2016, 31(2): 164-171.
25. Ong MS, Olson KL, Chadwick L, et al. The impact of provider networks on the co-prescriptions of interacting drugs: a claims-based analysis. Drug Saf, 2017, 40(3): 263-272.
26. Simmering JE, Polgreen LA, Campbell DR, et al. Hospital transfer network structure as a risk factor for clostridium difficile infection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 2015, 36(9): 1031-1037.
27. Sewell DK, Simmering JE, Justice S, et al. Estimating the attributable disease burden and effects of interhospital patient sharing on clostridium difficile infections. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 2019, 40(6): 656-661.
28. Ray MJ, Lin MY, Weinstein RA, et al. Spread of carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae among illinois healthcare facilities: the role of patient sharing. Clin Infect Dis, 2016, 63(7): 889-893.
29. Donker T, Wallinga J, Grundmann H. Patient referral patterns and the spread of hospital-acquired infections through national health care networks. PLoS Comput Biol, 2010, 6(3): e1000715.
30. Moen EL, Bynum JP, Austin AM, et al. Assessing variation in implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy guideline adherence with physician and hospital patient-sharing networks. Med Care, 2018, 56(4): 350-357.
31. Everson J, Adler-Milstein JR, Hollingsworth JM, et al. Dispersion in the hospital network of shared patients is associated with less efficient care. Health Care Manage Rev, 2022, 47(2): 88-99.
32. Kim D, Funk RJ, Yan P, et al. Informal clinical integration in medicare accountable care organizations and mortality following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Med Care, 2019, 57(3): 194-201.
33. Hollingsworth JM, Funk RJ, Garrison SA, et al. Association between physician teamwork and health system outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes, 2016, 9(6): 641-648.
34. Hussain T, Chang HY, Veenstra CM, et al. Collaboration between surgeons and medical oncologists and outcomes for patients with stage Ⅲ colon cancer. J Oncol Pract, 2015, 11(3): e388-e397.
35. Uddin S, Hossain L, Kelaher M. Effect of physician collaboration network on hospitalization cost and readmission rate. Eur J Public Health, 2012, 22(5): 629-633.
36. Evan Pollack C, Wang H, Bekelman JE, et al. Physician social networks and variation in rates of complications after radical prostatectomy. Value Health, 2014, 17(5): 611-618.
37. Pollack CE, Lemke KW, Roberts E, et al. Patient sharing and quality of care: measuring outcomes of care coordination using claims data. Med Care, 2015, 53(4): 317-323.
38. Moen EL, Austin AM, Bynum JP, et al. An analysis of patient-sharing physician networks and implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy. Health Serv Outcomes Res Methodol, 2016, 16(3): 132-153.
39. Uddin S, Kelaher M, Srinivasan U. A framework for administrative claim data to explore healthcare coordination and collaboration. Aust Health Rev, 2016, 40(5): 500-510.
40. Gandré C, Beauguitte L, Lolivier A, et al. Care coordination for severe mental health disorders: an analysis of healthcare provider patient-sharing networks and their association with quality of care in a French region. BMC Health Serv Res, 2020, 20(1): 548.
41. Pollack CE, Weissman GE, Lemke KW, et al. Patient sharing among physicians and costs of care: a network analytic approach to care coordination using claims data. J Gen Intern Med, 2013, 28(3): 459-465.
42. Pollack CE, Frick KD, Herbert RJ, et al. It's who you know: patient-sharing, quality, and costs of cancer survivorship care. J Cancer Surviv, 2014, 8(2): 156-166.
43. Lublóy Á, Keresztúri JL, Benedek G. Formal professional relationships between general practitioners and specialists in shared care: possible associations with patient health and pharmacy costs. Appl Health Econ Health Policy, 2016, 14(2): 217-227.
44. Geissler KH, Lubin B, Ericson KMM. The association between patient sharing network structure and healthcare costs. PLoS One, 2020, 15(6): e0234990.
45. Uddin MS, Hossain L. Social networks enabled coordination model for cost management of patient hospital admissions. J Healthc Qual, 2011, 33(5): 37-48.
46. Barnett ML, Christakis NA, O'Malley J, et al. Physician patient-sharing networks and the cost and intensity of care in US hospitals. Med Care, 2012, 50(2): 152-160.
47. Landon BE, Keating NL, Onnela JP, et al. Patient-sharing networks of physicians and health care utilization and spending among Medicare beneficiaries. JAMA Intern Med, 2018, 178(1): 66-73.
48. Stecher C. Physician network connections to specialists and HIV quality of care. Health Serv Res, 2021, 56(5): 908-918.
49. Uddin S. Exploring the impact of different multi-level measures of physician communities in patient-centric care networks on healthcare outcomes: A multi-level regression approach. Sci Rep, 2016, 6: 20222.
50. DuGoff EH, Cho J, Si Y, et al. Geographic variations in physician relationships over time: implications for care coordination. Med Care Res Rev, 2018, 75(5): 586-611.

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