A new report from PHC4, an independent healthcare council in Pennsylvania, shows that certain orthopedic and spine procedures — total hip replacements, total knee replacements and spinal fusions — are increasingly moving to the outpatient setting, according to an Oct. 25 report from Central Penn Business Journal.
The report, which looked at data from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2022, showed that inpatient spinal fusion cases decreased by 8.8% statewide, while outpatient cases increased by 1%.
Around 16,465 inpatient spinal fusions were performed in the period, while 4,410 outpatient fusions were performed.
The number of outpatient hip replacements increased by 113.7%, while inpatient cases decreased by 52.3%. Outpatient knee replacements increased by 74.3% and inpatient cases decreased by 53.1%.
The majority of the state's joint replacements are now being performed in an outpatient setting, with 15,386 outpatient hip replacements occurring in the period, compared with 9,906 inpatient replacements.
About 25,095 total knee replacements were performed in an outpatient setting, compared with 13,910 cases in the inpatient setting.