Surgical Volumes and Readiness—Challenges of Declining Cases for the Military Surgeon

In their analysis using the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities metric and TRICARE claims, Dalton et al¹ noted decreasing numbers of general surgery cases in military treatment facilities (MTFs) between fiscal years 2015 and 2019. They link this decrease to a simultaneous increase in purchased care in the civilian setting. These findings have implications for the expeditionary readiness of surgical teams in the US Armed Forces.