Jeffrey Kerina, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at TLC Outpatient Surgery and Laser Center in Lady Lake Florida is optimistic about total joint replacements at ASCs.
He spoke on the "Becker's Spine and Orthopedic Podcast" about the future of outpatient joint replacements and what will make a strong joint replacement program.
This is an excerpt. Listen to the full podcast here.
Question: How do you see the outpatient total joint landscape evolving in the next five years or so?
Dr. Jeffrey Kerina: It's only going to become a larger and larger percentage of those total joint replacements that are done. I don't see it going back because of the access to arthroplasty in general, but doing outpatient arthroplasty tremendously increases the value of it as an option and as a procedure. The outcomes improve, the cost goes down, the patients are happier, the payers are happier and the providers are happier. So it's a win-win win-win situation where everything that you could possibly want from a procedure is what you end up with when you're looking at an outpatient arthroplasty.
I see the landscape changing in the sense that more and more people will seek out more and more outpatient arthroplasty platforms. And I think the one thing that we have to always keep in mind is that every community is different. And in order for an outpatient arthroplasty program to work, you have to understand and know your patient demographic and who your patients are and the resources that are available in your community. Once you can tie those two together to form a process that allows for a safety net for that patient, then you're well on your way.