A new study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, examined ASC utilization rates for cataract surgery.
Brian Stagg, MD, of Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan, and colleagues conducted a retrospective longitudinal cohort analysis of 369,320 patients who underwent cataract surgery between January 2001 and December 2014.
The mean age of the patient base was 66.3 years and the patients underwent 531,325 cataract surgeries.
Here's what they found:
1. Approximately 64.2 percent or 237,046 underwent cataract surgery at an ASC.
2. The proportion of cataract surgeries performed at ASCs increased from 43.6 percent in 2001 to 73 percent in 2014.
3. Patients with incomes of more than $100,000 were 20 percent more likely to undergo cataract surgery at an ASC.
4. Patients in communities without certificate-of-need laws were more than twice as likely to have a procedure at an ASC.
Researchers concluded, "We observed a large shift in the site of cataract surgery from hospital outpatient departments to ASCs from 2001 to 2014. Future research is needed to assess the effect of this transition in site of surgical care on patient access to surgery, surgical outcomes, patient safety, and societal costs."