Here are 10 key things to know about ASCs and total joint replacements in 2023:
1. Orthopedics, including total joint replacements, make up 37 percent of ASC volume, according to data from the ASC Association.
2. Nationwide, orthopedic surgeries bring in more revenue than any other specialty, according to VMG Health's "Multi-Specialty ASC Benchmarking Study" for 2022.
3. Orthopedic cases offer the highest reimbursements to ASCs, according to the same VMG Health report.
4. A study in the Journal of Arthroplasty found many hospitals are performing total hip and knee replacements at "suboptimal volumes." Complications stopped declining after volumes of cases surpassed 260 annually, the study found.
5. More than 550 ASCs offer total joint replacements in the U.S. A list of the number of ASCs per state is here.
6. A study from New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery and Philadelphia-based Rothman Orthopaedics suggests there is no increased risk for patients undergoing outpatient joint replacements performed in the ASC setting when compared with the inpatient hospital setting.
7. ASCs are anticipated to perform 68 percent of orthopedic surgeries by the mid-2020s, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
8. On average, outpatient total joint replacements cost $11,677, with inpatient surgery costing $19,361, according to research from the Hospital for Special Surgery and Rothman Orthopaedic Institute.
9. UnitedHealth Group projects that migrating half of routine total joint replacements from hospitals to ASCs could mean $3 billion in annual savings — $2 billion for privately insured individuals and employers and $1 billion for Medicare beneficiaries and the federal government.
10. The potential savings of moving total joint replacements to surgery centers is high. The cost of treatment is about 40 percent less in an ASC compared to a hospital setting.