A new white paper from Regent Surgical Health, available for download here, outlines four trends for ASCs in 2020, and outpatient total joint replacement tops the list.
The stage was set for an accelerating outpatient TJR trend last year when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated policies to include total knee arthroplasty on the covered procedures list for ASCs, and remove total hip arthroplasty from the “inpatient only” list. Even before this development, the Becker’s ASC Review report had projected tremendous outpatient TJR growth by 2026:
- Predicting 73% growth in outpatient hip and knee joint replacement surgeries
- Anticipating more than half (51%) of primary hip and knee joint replacement surgeries will be performed in an outpatient setting
According to Chris Stine, Regent’s Director of Bundled Payments, more physicians will embrace outpatient TJR in 2020. “These new policies will create an expectation that appropriate cases move more aggressively outpatient, leaving the hospital for patients who truly need additional services.”
The CMS changes increase price transparency, reduce provider burden, and help both hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers operate with better flexibility, giving patients the options they need to become active healthcare consumers. They create an ideal environment for ASCs to act.
For additional information on outpatient total joint replacements, and on the other three trends shaping ambulatory growth in 2020, download the full guide here and contact Thomas Crossen at tcrossen@regentsh.com.
