ASCs reduce spine surgery costs, maintain quality

Editor's Note

A study presented at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting found that performing spine procedures in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) can reduce costs while sustaining patient satisfaction scores, Spine Surgery Today reports.

Of 1,000 spine procedures performed in an ASC, eight patients had to be transferred to the hospital for a transfer rate of <1%, and there was a <0.5% reoperation rate, and no mortality.

Costs decreased significantly by 30% to 70%, and patient satisfaction scores were the same as those in hospital ORs.

NEW ORLEANS - An outpatient ambulatory center can reduce surgical costs by 30% to 70% while sustaining similar patient satisfaction scores as hospital operating rooms, a speaker said here. Domagoj Coric, MD, stated his ambulatory surgical center completes about 1,200 spine procedures a year, including more than 1,000 anterior cervical discectomies and fusion procedures (ACDF).