Study: Moving 50% of Urological Surgeries From Hospitals to ASCs Could Save $66M

Urological surgeries performed in ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices instead of hospital outpatient departments are significantly less expensive, and shifting the cases from hospitals to ASCs could save millions of Medicare dollars annually, according to a study published in The Journal of Urology and Science Codex.

The study compared the Medicare costs of 22 urological surgeries performed on elderly patients across ASCs, physician offices and HOPDs from 1998 to 2006. Researchers also looked at all relevant payments made within 30 days of the surgery.

John Hollingsworth, MD, the lead researcher of the study and a professor within the University of Michigan’s department of urology, said ASCs and physician offices had far greater Medicare cost savings in 20 of the 22 procedures, and “offloading 50 percent of the procedures from hospitals to [ASCs] would save the Medicare program nearly $66 million annually,” according to the report.

Study: Moving 50% of Urological Surgeries From Hospitals to ASCs Could Save $66M

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