A study published in Neurosurgery found anterior cervical discectomy and fusion costs were significantly lower when performed in outpatient settings.
Researchers studied 3,135 outpatient surgeries and 46,996 inpatient surgeries throughout California, Florida and New York from 2009 to 2011.
Here are three key points:
1. Average costs for ACDF procedures in outpatient settings was $33,362 while in inpatient settings patients' bills reached $74,667.
2. In the outpatient group, 168 (5.4 percent) went to the emergency department within 30 days compared to 2,607 (5.5 percent) of patients who underwent inpatient surgery.
3. Fifty-one (1.6 percent) of outpatient patients were readmitted and five (0.2 percent) underwent reoperation. In the inpatient group, 1,778 patients (3.8 percent) were readmitted and 200 (0.4 percent) underwent reoperation.
Study authors concluded, "ACDF can be performed in an ambulatory setting with comparable morbidity and readmission rates, and lower costs, to those performed in an inpatient setting."