News Releases

Report Examines Surgical Volume in Northeast Ohio

Outpatient surgical volume in Northeast Ohio continued to grow in the third quarter of 2015, according to a recently published Key Indicators Report on hospital market trends by The Center for Health Affairs. Consistent with recent trends, inpatient surgical volume continued to decline in the third quarter as more surgical procedures are being performed in the outpatient setting. Overall, outpatient surgical volume in Northeast Ohio increased by 3.87 percent, or 2,297 cases. Conversely, inpatient surgical volumes decreased by 1.75 percent – 439 cases – when compared to the same quarter in 2014.

In addition to decreasing inpatient surgical volume in Northeast Ohio, the report notes that despite several quarters of hospital volume steadily increasing, volumes during the third quarter of 2015 showed a slight decrease in several categories compared to the third quarter of 2014. Total patient discharges decreased by 1.15 percent and on-campus ED admissions decreased by 1.68 percent. Lastly, the report notes that while past quarters have demonstrated significant quarter-by-quarter increases upwards of 2 to 3 percent, the third quarter of 2015 saw an increase of the number of patients considered observation status of just 1.04 percent. The marginal increase could indicate a plateauing of the number of patients cared for under observation status.

The Key Indicators Report provides analysis of the hospital market from data collected through its Volume Statistics program. For more information on surgical volume in Northeast Ohio or any other trends in hospital volume, please contact George Jeney at 216.255.3666 or via email.