Key result
Acute care surgery conditions account for up to 30% of US inpatient hospital costs, and optimizing ACS practice models can improve both quality of care and financial viability for healthcare organizations.
Why the study?
Acute care surgery diagnoses drive substantial inpatient healthcare costs, creating a need to optimize care delivery models and address practice vulnerabilities amidst evolving macroeconomic trends.
Optimizing acute care surgery practice models by understanding macroeconomic trends and reimbursement structures is essential for improving healthcare quality and value in the US.
May support broader case inclusion in acute care surgery models; leaves open optimal reimbursement strategies amid payer vulnerabilities.
Acute care surgery (ACS) diagnoses are responsible for approximately a quarter of the costs of inpatient care in the US government, and individuals will be responsible for a larger share of the costs of this healthcare as the population ages. ACS as a specialty thus has the opportunity to meet a significant healthcare need, and by optimizing care delivery models do so in a way that improves both quality and value. ACS practice models that have maintained or added emergency general surgery (EGS) and even elective surgery have realized more operative case volume and surgeon satisfaction. However, vulnerabilities exist in the ACS model. Payer mix in a practice varies by geography and distribution of EGS, trauma, critical care, and elective surgery. Critical care codes constitute approximately 25% of all billing by acute care surgeons, so even small changes in reimbursement in critical care can have significant impact on professional revenue. Staffing an ACS practice can be challenging depending on reimbursement and due to uneven geographic distribution of available surgeons. Empowered by an understanding of economics, using team-oriented leadership inherent to trauma surgeons, and in partnership with healthcare organizations and regulatory bodies, ACS surgeons are positioned to significantly influence the future of healthcare in the USA.
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Bernard et al. (2019) conducted a review in Acute care surgery. Acute care surgery practice models was evaluated. Acute care surgery conditions account for up to 30% of US inpatient hospital costs, and optimizing ACS practice models can improve both quality of care and financial viability for healthcare organizations.
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