Here are five key notes on total joints to know in 2024:
1. ASCs are eyeing total shoulder arthroscopy after CMS added it to the ASC-covered list in its final rule.
"With CMS' sudden unexpected release of total shoulder arthroscopy to the ASC-covered procedures list, I find myself scrambling to meet with our surgeons and staff to begin planning for the first of the year," Alfonso del Granado, administrator and CEO of Lubbock, Texas-based Covenant High Plains Surgery Centers, told Becker's. "This is an exciting time, and I haven't felt this bullish about the future since before the COVID pandemic."
2. Zimmer Biomet said in a third-quarter earnings call that it is keeping a close eye on the rapid shift of orthopedic and total joint replacement cases to the ASC setting. The company plans to be "relentless" about its ASC opportunities in the U.S.
3. There are 42,228 total joint arthroplasty cases reported by ASCs annually, an 84% increase from the previous year, according to a report from the American Joint Replacement Registry. From 2019 to 2023, the number of knee replacement procedures occurring in the outpatient setting increased by 293%.
4. In 2023, the average margin for outpatient hip replacements was $3,466, while the average margin for outpatient knee replacements was $2,879, according to the same report.
5. The use of robots in total knee arthroplasties increased sixfold in the last six years, according to a report from American Joint Replacement Registry.