Study debunks ‘July effect’

A review of 470,000 cardiac procedures by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that patients who were treated in the summer, when new physicians start their residencies, were no more likely to die than patients treated between April and June. The study, which appeared in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, debunks the notion of a “July effect,” at least for cardiac surgery. The study also found no differences related to in-hospital complications, costs or length of stay between patients who were treated in spring and summer. Other studies have described worse patient outcomes during the first month of resident training. The study’s authors say cardiac surgeons work in teams and adopt "direct and strict" supervision of newly arriving residents. (HealthLeaders Media story, 7/29/19)