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.
