Southeast Health is among the top 11% of U.S. health systems overusing low-value health services, according to a Johns Hopkins University study published in JAMA last week.

The study analyzed Medicare claims data from 2016-2018 at 676 U.S. health care systems for 17 services previously identified as unnecessary, such as MRIs for patients with mild traumatic brain injuries, spinal fusions for back pain, pap smears for women over age 65, and hysterectomies for benign diseases the low-value service that was used the most.

A health systems usage of these types of services relative to its peers serves as a proxy for whether its hospitals provide unneeded care, according to the study.

Southeast Health placed at No. 12 in the cross sectional study that found those that most overused health care had more beds, fewer primary care physicians, more physician practice groups, were more likely to be investor-owned, and were less likely to include a major teaching hospital.

Southeast Health is owned by the Houston County Health Care Authority, and is a not-for-profit system. The Houston County Health Care Authority also owns the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, which graduated its first class of students in 2017.

Unnecessary procedures, tests, and screenings are linked to lower quality of care and worse patient and worker safety, and drive up healthcare costs. Specifically, researchers stated in the studys introduction that this wasteful care is physically, psychologically, and financially harmful to patients.

Among the top over-users were St. Dominic Health Services of Jackson, Mississippi, Irving, Texas-based USMD Health System, Community Medical Centers of Clovis, California, and Providence, Rhode Island-based Care New England Health System, according to the study. Opelikas East Alabama Medical Center ranked No. 5.

While the study did identity several features of health systems that top those rankings, it determined that In-depth exploration of the drivers of health care overuse is needed at the level of health systems as their incentives may not be aligned with high-value care.

A Southeast Health spokesperson said Wednesday that it has just learned of the study and withheld comment.

We will need time to evaluate the information and to analyze the metrics used to determine the outcomes, Mark Stewart, director of community relations, said in an email.

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Study: Dothan SE Health among US systems that give unnecessary care - AL.com