- A study was done at Tulane University highlighting the cost of cancelled outpatient surgeries.
- The study found that 327 (6.7%) of the facility's 4,876 scheduled elective outpatient surgeries were canceled in 2009, which cost the hospital nearly $1 million in revenue over that 12-month span.
According to the article, the following were reasons why patients canceled their surgeries:
- No-shows were a common cause of cancellations
- Patient Transportation issues
- Uncertainty regarding the date of the procedure
- Forgetting about the appointment
- Lack of available beds or equipment
The study also found that:
- The cancellations varied by specialty
- Improving equipment and resources and increasing efficiency help reduce the likelihood of having to cancel surgeries
To download the article, please go to the following link: Cost of Canceled Outpatient Surgeries
For additional billing and coding resources, please click the following link: Medical Reimbursement, Inc. Resources