Here are data from the federal government’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) that compare different surgical procedures according the expense incurred by hospitals in providing them. Here are some notes about the following – these data are for INPATIENT procedures only. The data are for what it COSTS the hospital for the patient’s entire stay, not what the hospital charges for the stay. These are ALL-PAYER data, which is good – the data are not limited to the Medicare population, for example. Finally, the data are based on first-listed operating room procedures.
Top 10 Most Costly Surgical Operations: Mean Cost Per Stay, US, 2014
- $52,000 Heart valve
- $41,900 Coronary artery bypass graft
- $35,000 Pacemaker/cardioverter/defibrillator
- $34,600 Incision/excision central nervous system
- $34,300 Small bowel resection
- $28,900 Spinal fusion
- $23,700 Colorectal resection
- $21,500 Percutaneous coronary angioplasty
- $20,800 Amputation, lower extremity
- $17,500 Debridement of wound, infection, burn
Source: McDermott, K.W., Freeman, W.J., and Elixhauser, A. (2017, December). Overview of operating room procedures during inpatient stays in U.S. hospitals, 2014. Statistical Brief. Click here for FREE full text: https://hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb233-Operating-Room-Procedures-United-States-2014.jsp Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org
