Higher-acuity cases are moving into the outpatient setting, and spine is no exception.
Orthopedics has been a bread-and-butter specialty at ASCs for years, as orthopedic surgeries bring in the most revenue of any specialty and offer the highest reimbursements to ASCs.
Spine is just one area of orthopedics that has big potential for growth in the outpatient setting.
"In five years, the outpatient spine surgery landscape is expected to continue its growth and evolution," Brian Fiani, DO, a neurosurgeon at Mendelson Kornblum Orthopedic & Spine Specialists in West Bloomfield, Mich., told Becker's. "There will likely be advancements in technology, techniques and patient care that allow for more efficient and effective procedures."
"The outpatient spine surgery landscape will greatly expand beyond what we are seeing currently," Don Park, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon at UCI Health in Orange, Calif., told Becker's. "With the increased adoption and utilization of endoscopic spine surgery in the U.S., more surgeries can be performed in the ASCs using these ultra-minimally invasive techniques. In addition, awake spine surgery techniques with epidural, spinal and fascial blocks can allow more patients to undergo spine surgery without the need for general anesthesia. This will allow older patients with more medical comorbidities to have endoscopic spine surgery performed in the outpatient setting."