Outpatient Orthopedic Surgery

With the looming financial threat from the migration of lucrative hip and knee replacement procedures to outpatient settings, some hospitals and health systems have acquired ambulatory surgery centers or formed joint ventures with surgeons in these centers.

Many opportunities are erupting in the outpatient landscape, as surgery centers can truncate overall costs while simultaneously providing optimal patient outcomes. With hospitals facing slimmer margins and pressure to operate in an environment that emphasizes value, hospitals and healthcare systems are eyeing ASCs as a potential partner to move forward in healthcare’s rather uncertain future.

The CMS wants to slash 340B drug payments to hospitals and allow Medicare to pay for hip and knee replacement procedures that take place in outpatient facilities, according to a proposal released Thursday.

Surgeons across the country are beginning to perform outpatient total joint replacements and spine surgery in an ambulatory surgery center. Outpatient procedures are associated with lower infection rates and reduced costs, providing better value to the healthcare system.

Orthopedic and spine surgeons around the country are beginning to perform outpatient procedures, including total joints and spinal fusions, and many of these procedures can be performed in an ASC. This concept is new for many surgeons, but a few industry pioneers gathered last week in Chicago have decades of experience.

Growth, value-based care and payer reimbursement are some of the most pressing issues Michael J. Patterson, president and CEO of Davenport, Iowa-based Mississippi Valley Health, believes the ASC industry is facing.