Understanding trends in anesthesia demographics is key to strategic planning and maximizing revenue, according to a blog post by Tony Mira, founder of Anesthesia Business Consultants.
Mr. Mira conducted a review of 20 large groups from across the country based on age and gender patterns from 2016 to 2020.
As a whole, the data indicates a "gradual erosion of practice revenue potential" due to "Medicare and repeated rate reductions and the loss of billable units for endoscopic cases," Mr. Mira wrote.
Here are six insights:
1. In the five-year period, anesthesia use for patients ages 60 to 70 increased year-over-year, while use for patients over 80 decreased.
2. There was a dramatic increase in anesthesia use for patients aged 50 to 55 — a result of increased use of anesthesia for endoscopic procedures and colonoscopies.
3. There was a 14 percent decrease in total patient volume from 2019 to 2020 due to COVID-19.
4. Female use of surgical services was consistent at 54 percent over the five years.
5. Despite the growth in anesthesia use in endoscopic procedures before 2016, endoscopic anesthesia consistently represented about 25 percent of all services provided.
6. There was a dramatic increase in patients under 60 years old getting colonoscopies from 2016 to 2020.