Here are seven key stories on outpatient spine trends and news.
How an outpatient spine surgery practice allows a work-life balance
Only 22 percent of residents currently plan on becoming a partner or owner in a practice, according to a Medscape Resident Salary & Debt Report 2016, down slightly from the 26 percent of residents who reported the same in 2015. Typically, the words 'independent/solo practice' invoke images of late nights and administrative burden. But, according to Richard Wohns, MD, JD, MBA, founder and president of Puget Sound-based NeoSpine, it doesn't have to be that way.
Spine surges ahead into ASC sphere — Overview of ASC payable spine codes
Spine surgery performed in ASCs continues to grow with eight new recently proposed ASC payable codes. These additions come after the inclusion of nine spine codes in the 2015 ASC payable list. In August, CMS proposed to add eight new spine codes to the ASC payable list in 2017. These proposed codes build off the nine new procedure codes added to the ASC payable list in 2015.
Dr. Mick Perez-Cruet's takeaways on MIS & outpatient spine
Neurosurgeon Mick Perez-Cruet, MD, of Southfield-based Michigan Head & Spine Institute, offers his insight on minimally invasive spine surgery, value-based care and what the future holds for outpatient spine.
Outpatient surgeries up 4.2M procedures in 20 years
As technology advances and healthcare demands lower-cost options, the outpatient surgery space will continue to thrive. The number of hospital admissions rates fell from 118 admissions per 1,000 visits to 103.7 admissions per 1,000 visits from 1994 to 2014. Comparatively, there were 383 million outpatient visits in 1994. In 2014, that number increased to more than 693 million outpatient visits. In 2009, there were 5,039 outpatient surgery centers throughout the nation. In 2014, the number of outpatient surgery centers hit 5,446 centers.
ASC segment to see growth in cervical total disc replacement market
The global cervical total disc replacement device market is anticipated to hit $1.75 billion by 2021, based on a Market.Biz report. The cervical total disc replacement device market is anticipated to grow at a greater compound annual growth rate in the ambulatory surgery center segment, than in the hospital segment during the forecast period. This trend is due to more surgeons performing minimally invasive cervical disc replacements in ASCs.
Key specialties coming for ASCs in 2017
Ambulatory surgery centers are performing higher acuity cases and presenting opportunities for the healthcare system to provide optimal care for patients at a lower cost. Technological advancements and reimbursement improvements have paved the way for surgeons to perform more spinal and outpatient total joint procedures in ASCs.
Biggest stories in 2016's spine market — Acquisitions, outpatient spine & more
The spine industry saw the effects of transitioning to a value-based environment, a slew of merger and acquisition activity, some dramatic lawsuits and continued growth of outpatient spine, among many other market changes in 2016. Take a look at dominating devices companies, impact of MACRA, growing minimally invasive spine techniques and surge of outpatient spine.