Goldstone AB, Chiu P, Baiocchi M, et al. - Via performing a retrospective cohort study, researchers sought to assess the risks and benefits of transferring patients with acute type A aortic dissection—a catastrophic disease that requires prompt intervention—to higher-volume aortic surgery hospitals. In addition, they examined the feasibility and efficacy of regionalizing care for these patients. They examined 16,886 Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with an acute type A aortic dissection between 1999 and 2014 with respect to the operative mortality and long-term survival; comparison of these outcomes was done between those who (1) were transferred vs not transferred, (2) underwent surgery at high-volume vs low-volume hospitals, and (3) were rerouted vs not rerouted to a high-volume hospital for treatment. The analysis revealed significantly lower operative and long-term mortality in patients with acute type A aortic dissection who received surgery at high-volume hospitals. Despite delaying surgery, a substantial reduction in operative mortality was achieved in correlation with a regionalization policy that transfers patients to high-volume hospitals instead of low-volume aortic surgery hospitals; this association persisted in the long term.