Costs are significantly lower for patients choosing to have an orthopedic procedure at an ASC instead of a hospital outpatient department, according to a new report from Medscape.
The study analyzed 990,980 orthopedic surgery patients between 2013 and 2018, 34 percent getting surgery at an ASC and the remaining getting surgery at an HOPD, to examine average costs of procedures.
Here are five insights from the study:
1. Total patient costs were 26 percent lower at ASCs than HOPDs.
2. HOPD costs increased by 2.5 percent yearly during the study, while ASC costs decreased by 0.1 percent yearly.
3. Technical fees were 33 percent lower at ASCs.
4. Surgeon professional fees were 11 percent higher at ASCs.
5. ASCs were most popular in the West (39 percent), followed by the Northeast (32 percent), the South (31 percent) and North Central regions (29 percent.)