The Economic Impact of Elective Orthopedic Surgery

Dear CSS Members and Colleagues:

Enclosed is a very informative study form the Johns Hopkins shoulder team which considers the impact of orthopedic surgery on the bottom line of our hospitals’ revenue. This fits very well with the Video programs we have already posted on VuMedi on Orthopedic Business post-pandemic (https://www.vumedi.com/channel/codman-shoulder-society/). The conclusions are as follows:

“Elective MSK surgery accounted for $65.6–$71.1 billion in reimbursement and $15.6–$21.1 billion in net income per year to the US hospital system, equivalent to $5.5–$5.9 billion in reimbursement and $1.3–$1.8 billion in net income per month. When compared with elective surgery from all other specialties, elective MSK surgery accounted for 39% of hospital reimbursement and 35% of hospital net income. Compared with all hospital encounters for all specialties, electiveMSK surgery accounted for 13% of reimbursement and 23% of net income. Estimated hospital losses from cancellation of elective MSK surgery during 8 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic were $10.9–$11.9 billion in reimbursement and $2.6–3.5 billion in net income. Conclusion Cancellation of elective MSK surgery for 8 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic has substantial economic implications on the US hospital system.”

The full article enclosed is worth a read.

Best Regards,

JP Warner, MD

Founder, The CSS