NYT: Patients Delaying Elective Surgery
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, MARCH 23, 2009
The New York Times reported last week that hospitals are seeing a slowdown in elective surgery, hip and knee replacements among them, as the recession forces patients to delay procedures on account of financial concerns. These delays could subject patients to further pain and joint deterioration which could potentially complicate surgery or result in poorer outcomes. This corroborates reports from the public orthopedics companies' recent financial results, which showed an average slowdown in growth of approximately three percentage points, from 10% growth to 7%.
The Times noted that right now, the decline in procedure volumes hasn't affected all regions and practices equally - "that means that highly regarded orthopedic surgeons in Chicago may be as busy as ever, while gastroenterologists in Atlanta are scrambling to fill cancellations" - and some patients may even accelerate surgery as they worry about losing their insurance. Still, sources quoted by the Times say that even fully-booked practices are expecting to see a slowdown by the end of the year.
As has been the tone throughout this downturn, hospitals are taking the brunt of this trend. The Times reports that since elective surgeries are typically covered by higher-paying private insurers, hospital revenues could shrink as these procedures are put off, which could lead to staff layoffs and delayed expansion plans or equipment purchases.
It is unfortunate that patients are forced to delay these surgeries, but contend that orthopedic procedures are elective surgeries in the sense that patients can elect when to schedule them, not in the sense that they are unnecessary. We believe these surgeries are being deferred during this time of economic uncertainty, but they will happen once people get more clarity on the economy in general and their own financial position.
