Does patient selection account for the perceived cost savings in outpatient spine surgery? A meta-analysis of current evidence and analysis from an administrative database.

CONCLUSIONS Compared to inpatient spine surgery, outpatient spine surgery was associated with better short-term outcomes and an initial reduction in direct costs. A selection bias for outpatient procedures toward younger, healthier patients may confound these results. The additional analysis of the national database suggests that cost savings in the outpatient setting may be less than previously reported and a result of outpatient procedures being offered more frequently to younger and healthier individuals. PMID: 30215589 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of Neurosurgery.Spine - Category: Neurosurgery Authors: Tags: J Neurosurg Spine Source Type: research