ASC procedure volume and length benchmarks (CDC data 2010)
There are around 48.3 million surgeries performed in ASCs per year, and 70 percent were associated with the digestive system, musculoskeletal system, integumentary system and nervous system, according to a report from the CDC.
The report, released in May 2017, focuses on data from 2010, which is the most recent year available. Here are key statistics from the report:
Number of procedures
- Digestive procedures including colonoscopies: 4 million
- Eye procedures including lens extraction: 2.9 million
- Nervous system procedures including spinal canal and pain relief injections: 2.9 million
- Lens insertion: 2.6 million procedures for cataracts
- Endoscopy of the small intestine: 2.2 million
- Musculoskeletal procedures: 1.3 million
- Integumetary system procedures: 1.2 million
- Endoscopic polypectomy of the large intestine: 1.1 million
- Eyelid operations: 1 million
Time benchmarks for procedures
- Operating room time: 50 minute per procedure (compared to 63 minutes in HOPDs)
- Time spent in surgery: 29 minutes (compared to 37 minutes in HOPDs)
- Postoperative care: 51 minutes (compared to 89 minutes in HOPDs)
- Endoscopies: 14 minutes to perform
- Endoscopic polypectomy of the large intestine: 21 minutes
- Cataract surgery, extraction or insertion of the lens: 10 minutes
- Eyelid operations: 23 minutes
- Knee arthroscopy: 32 minutes
CMS reduces Colonoscopy Reimbursement in 2018
The 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule reduces the base unit value for screening colonoscopy from 5 to 3, this represents a 40% reduction in base units for the procedures that translates into an estimated 28% reduction in reimbursement, based on an average of 7.2 units billed. CPT codes 00740 (anesthesia for upper GI procedures) and 00810 (anesthesia for lower GI procedures) have been replaced with a series of five new codes to distinguish different types of procedures. We will be calculating the anticipated financial impact associated with the changes for each of our clients and communicating this for budgeting and planning purposes.
