Healthcare Insights

20 most common surgical procedures at long term care facilities

The following list highlights the top 20 surgical procedures performed at long term care (LTC) facilities in 2019, as classified by HCPCS/CPT code. LTC facilities — including skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and assisted living facilities — serve elderly patients by providing care in the absence of other reliable caretaker options.

The top three procedures performed are related to debridement— a surgical procedure used to remove damage or foreign objects from an area. The most common procedure is debridement of wounds down to and including the subcutaneous tissue “CPT code 11042”. Procedures related to debridement make up over 70 percent of the procedures represented on this list and have an average charge per procedure of $318. 

The most expensive procedure, EGD Biopsy Single/Multiple “CPT code 43239”,  has an average charge of $1,333 per procedure while the least expensive procedure, Routine Venipuncture “CPT code 3641”, has an average charge of $18 per procedure. 

Top 20 surgical procedures at LTC facilities

RankHCPCS/CPT CodeHCPCS DescriptionNumber of Total ProceduresTotal ChargesAvg Charge/ProcedureExplore Dataset
111042Deb subq tissue 20 sq cm/<368,409$113,047,748 $307 Explore
211043Deb musc/fascia 20 sq cm/<244,315$135,648,784 $555 Explore
311721Debride nail 6 or more179,642$12,222,340 $68 Explore
417250Chem caut of granltj tissue139,181$33,240,170 $239 Explore
536415ROUTINE VENIPUNCTURE123,507$2,254,920 $18 Explore
611720Debride nail 1-571,689$3,202,007 $45 Explore
711046Deb musc/fascia add-on29,519$10,251,601 $347 Explore
811045Deb subq tissue add-on28,123$5,320,152 $189 Explore
911056Trim skin lesions 2 to 427,482$2,336,493 $85 Explore
1011055Trim skin lesion23,119$1,580,177 $68 Explore
1111719Trim nail(s) any number21,492$683,120 $32 Explore
1269210REMOVE IMPACTED EAR WAX UNI18,248$1,262,445 $69 Explore
1311044Deb bone 20 sq cm/<8,697$6,217,569 $715 Explore
1420610Drain/inj joint/bursa w/o us5,699$1,227,070 $215 Explore
1536416CAPILLARY BLOOD DRAW4,726$94,422 $20 Explore
1611730Removal of nail plate4,222$670,251 $159 Explore
1743239EGD BIOPSY SINGLE/MULTIPLE3,829$4,339,852 $1,133 Explore
1810060Drainage of skin abscess3,497$1,110,566 $318 Explore
1912001Rpr s/n/ax/gen/trnk 2.5cm/<3,299$1,360,002 $412 Explore
2051798US URINE CAPACITY MEASURE3,174$169,342 $53 Explore

Fig 1 Data from Definitive Healthcare based on All-Payor Commercial Claims analytics from CY 2019.

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