AHRQ Finds More Than Half of All Hospital Procedures Are Done Outpatient

Tags: AHRQ | hospital | outpatient surgical procedures

Nearly 58 percent of the surgeries performed in hospitals during 2007 were done as outpatient procedures, according to a recent statistical brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Specifically, AHRQ analyzed data from 28 states and found:

• Charges for outpatient procedures were seven times lower than for inpatient ones. The average hospital charge for an outpatient procedure was $6,100 in 2007, compared with $39,900 for an inpatient procedure.
• Hospital outpatient surgery charges totaled $55.6 billion compared with $259 billion for inpatient surgeries.
• Colonoscopies and resulting biopsies were the most frequently performed outpatient procedure (18 percent of all ambulatory procedures), followed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopies and related biopsies (11 percent), lens and cataract procedures (5.5 percent) and diagnostic cardiac catheterization (4 percent).

The increase in outpatient surgical procedures is largely due to advances in surgical technology and anesthesia, according to the release.

Read AHRQ's statistical brief on outpatient surgical procedures.

© Copyright ASC COMMUNICATIONS 2011. Interested in LINKING to or REPRINTING this content? View our policies by clicking here.