AHRQ: Surgical procedures performed in hospital outpatient vs inpatient settings

Editor's Note

In 2014, 58% of the 17.2 million hospital-based surgical procedures took place in outpatient settings, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The report, which helps to quantify ongoing shifts to more outpatient surgical procedures, found that the most common outpatient procedures in 2014 were:

• lens and cataract procedures (99.9% performed as outpatients)
• cartilage removal in the knee (98.7%)
• tonsillectomy (95.6%)
• peripheral nerve decompression (95.2%)
• hernia repair (92%).

Private insurers were the most common payers for outpatient procedures, and Medicare was the most common payer for inpatient procedures.

TBD