Hospital and surgical discharges for 1981, as recorded by the uniform hospital discharge data of New York State, were aggregated by county of residence and converted into age-sex adjusted rates. Elderly hospital discharge and surgery rates in New York State, 1981, varied 2.4- and 2-fold, respectively. Discharge rates of elderly with specific surgical procedures showed even greater variation. However, proportions of highly complex and non-elective procedures performed on the elderly were similar in counties with high and low surgical rates. A multiple regression model consisting of independent dimensions of county demographic and medical resources characteristics plus a proxy variable for surgical practice styles was applied to hospital and surgery rates. Variations in elderly surgical discharge rates were found to be related to the supply of medical resources and to surgical practice styles.
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