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Though reliable market research is scarce for the surgery marketplace,
two things are certain:
- the number of surgical procedures is ballooning and will continue
to do so for many years to come, and
- more and more procedures are being done outside of acute care
hospitals in non-traditional settings, and that trend will continue
or accelerate, making the market more challenging to reach.
Thanks to the aging population and better and better surgical and
anesthesia techniques, surgery is growing rapidly. Ophthalmic, orthopedic
and other surgical procedures will grow as much as 49 percent by 2020,
according to one study.[1] The government estimates that health care
spending will grow 7.2 percent per year until 2015, reaching 20 percent
of the US GDP.[2] The number of Medicare-reimbursed surgical procedures
in ASCs grew 16 percent on average from 2001 to 2004.[3] The number
of cosmetic surgical procedures done yearly now stands at 1.8 million.[4]
At the same time, surgical venues are diversifying, away from traditional
hospitals and into non-traditional settings. Pressure on fees has spurred
surgeons to start their own surgical facilities so that they can achieve
more efficiency, participate in additional revenue streams and control
their time. Since 2000, the number of ASCs has grown by more than
300 centers per year.[5] Today there are more ASCs than hospitals doing
surgery. This growth may accelerate now that Medicare has expanded
the ASC procedure list and introduced a new pay scale for 2008.
Meanwhile, the number of unlicensed office-based surgery facilities
has grown to about 4,100 venues.[6] Almost half of all cosmetic surgery
procedures are performed in these facilities.
Physician owned surgical hospitals are also on the rise, and a recent study
showed that they produce better outcomes than acute-care hospitals.
Reach the burgeoning, diversified surgical market with Outpatient Surgery
Magazine, the best circulated, best read and best loved publication in
hospitals, ASCs and office-based surgery facilities.
1. Etzioni, D.A., et al, “The Aging Population and Its Impact on the Surgical Workplace,” Annals of Surgery, 8/2003
2. National Health Expenditure Data, CMS
3. Medicare PSPS data.
4. American Society of Plastic Surgeons 2000/2005/2006 National Plastic Surgery Statistics.
5. Medicare P.O.S. and State Licensing Data
6. Publisher's own analysis.
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