Costs & Cost Controls
Association between surgeon scorecard and OR costs
Editor's Note Providing surgeons with individualized cost feedback and surgical supply costs was associated with significantly reduced surgical supply costs, without negatively affecting patient outcomes in this study. The study involved 63 surgeons in an intervention group and 186 surgeons in a control group. Surgeons in the intervention group received…
Effect of opt-out policy for physician supervision of anesthesia
Editor's Note Opting out of the Medicare rule that requires anesthesia to be administered with physician supervision has little or no effect on access to inpatient or outpatient surgery, this study finds. The researchers also found that opting out does not reduce costs, and in fact increases costs for inpatient…
Radial artery access, same-day discharge reduce PCI costs
Editor's Note In this study, hospitals reduced costs associated with percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) when cardiologists performed the procedures through the radial artery and discharged patients on the same day. The analysis of 280,000 Medicare patients found that an average cost of $13,389 for the radial artery approach with same-day…
Conference takes OR business leaders to the next level
More than 400 surgical services directors, business managers, and thought leaders gathered in New Orleans in early February for the 2017 OR Business Management Conference. They came to explore new technology, learn from experts in the field, and network with their peers. They left with a wealth of ideas on…
Impact of SSIs on costs after ambulatory surgery procedures
Editor's Note Surgical site infections (SSIs), especially serious infections resulting in hospitalization or surgical treatment, were associated with significantly increased health care costs after four common ambulatory surgical procedures, this study finds. The incidence of serious SSIs was 0.8% after 21,062 anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions, 0.5% after 57,750 cholecystectomies, 0.6%…
Effect of bundled payments on total joint costs
Editor's Note In this study, Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement bundled payment model resulted in a decrease of $5,577 in total spending per episode. Most hospital savings came from implants and supplies, and most postacute care savings came from decreased use of inpatient rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility care.…
Total joint PSH helps meet patient satisfaction goals
When leaders at Memorial Healthcare, a 154-bed community hospital in Owosso, Michigan, wanted to get a jump on preparing for bundled payments, they chose to focus on total hip and knee surgery. Creating a perioperative surgical home (PSH) for this patient population paid off in enhanced patient satisfaction and reductions…
Adding new business to the ASC, one procedure at a time—Part 1
An ambulatory surgery center (ASC) looking to expand its market may want to add new procedures, but only after careful consideration of resource investment versus ultimate benefit. In the first of a three-part series, OR Manager explores surgical specialties that appear to show promise for the outpatient setting. One of…
Care after surgery drives costs
Editor's Note This study finds that where surgical patients go after they are discharged varies widely, and that variation leads to huge differences in how much their care costs. Variation in postacute care spending between lowest and highest quintiles differed 129% for total hip replacement, 103% for coronary artery bypass…
Colorectal SSIs plummet with evidence-based care bundles
Surgical site infections (SSIs) not only harm patients, but also can squeeze a hospital’s bottom line through increased costs and reduced reimbursement. Patients undergoing colorectal surgery are particularly at risk for SSIs, according to data from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), but an effective multidisciplinary team and an evidence-based…
Free Daily News
- Hospital’s anesthesia reforms slash carbon footprint, expenses
- Study: Shifting imaging to outpatient centers could save billions
- Report: Health system margins shrink as hospital revenue grows
- Study: Cataract surgery increases diabetic retinopathy progression
- FDA announces Class 1 endovascular system, anesthesia system recalls
- Cost-shifting concerns rise as GOP eyes Medicaid cuts
- Study: Prolonged general anesthesia linked to long-term cognitive decline
- Real-time cancer detection improves brain surgery precision
- Research highlights anesthesia provider knowledge gap on drug, hormonal contraceptive interactions
- Healthcare CFOs prioritize cost control, data-driven decisions