Jefferies, a New York-based financial services firm, conducted a survey of around 60 orthopedic surgeons, interventional cardiologists and anesthesiologists to see whether COVID-19 was affecting procedure volume.
1. There were 23 percent of respondents who said they had already seen an increase in delays and cancellations, and the average volumes were down 16 percent among those physicians. However, some reported procedure volume drops of up to 30 percent.
2. Twenty-three percent of orthopedic surgeons reported a procedure drop, compared with 29 percent of interventional cardiologists. On average, orthopedic surgeons perform 27 procedures per month.
3. More than half of the respondents said their institutions had begun to prepare for the possibility of procedure deferment or reallocation due to COVID-19, but that still leaves 45 percent of the institutions who had not begun to prepare for the spread.
4. Jefferies projects most orthopedic and interventional cardiology procedures are likely to be shifted or cancelled, and those surgeries could be done in hospitals or ASCs at a later date.