Healthcare Insights
Top 25 surgical procedures at ASCs
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) continue to be the focus of healthcare industry leaders seeking to reduce overall care costs. The expansion of care delivery outside of the traditional hospital setting correlates with falling costs, improved outcomes, and increased rates of patient satisfaction. Because of their limited offerings and outpatient focus, ASCs can offer diagnostic and outpatient procedures at lower rates than hospitals and other inpatient centers—and often with shorter wait times for patients.
Using data from the Atlas All-Payor Claims Dataset, we’ve ranked the top ASC procedures by their relative share of procedure volume below.
Surgical procedures at ASCs ranked by share of 2022 procedure volume
| Rank | HCPCS/CPT Code | HCPCS/CPT Description | % Total procedures | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 66984 | Extracapsular cataract removal with intraocular lens prosthesis; without endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation | 6.10% | Explore |
| 2 | 43239 | Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, flexible, transoral; biopsy; single or multiple | 4.10% | Explore |
| 3 | 45380 | Colonoscopy, flexible; with biopsy, single or multiple | 3.90% | Explore |
| 4 | 45385 | Colonoscopy, flexible; with removal of tumor(s), polyp(s), or other lesion(s) by snare technique | 3.50% | Explore |
| 5 | 45378 | Colonoscopy, flexible; diagnostic, including collection of specimen(s) by brushing or washing, when performed (separate procedure) | 2.30% | Explore |
| 6 | 142 | Anesthesia for lens surgery | 2.10% | Explore |
| 7 | 812 | Anesthesia for colonscopy | 1.60% | Explore |
| 8 | 64483 | Anesthesia and/or steroid via epidural, single level | 1.50% | Explore |
| 9 | G8918 | IV antibiotic surgical site infection prophylaxis | 1.20% | Explore |
| 10 | 811 | Anesthesia for lower intestinal endoscopy | 1.10% | Explore |
| 11 | 64493 | Injection of diagnostic/therapeutic agent into paravertebral nerves | 1.00% | Explore |
| 12 | C1713 | Anchor/screw for bone/tissue implants | 1.00% | Explore |
| 13 | 731 | Anesthesia for upper GI endoscopy | 0.90% | Explore |
| 14 | 66821 | Post-cataract laser surgery | 0.90% | Explore |
| 15 | 76942 | Echo guide for biopsy | 0.80% | Explore |
| 16 | 62323 | Injection of diagnostic/therapeutic agent into lumbar/sacral region | 0.80% | Explore |
| 17 | 64494 | Injection of diagnostic/therapeutic agent into paravertebral nerves, with fluoroscopy or CT scan | 0.70% | Explore |
| 18 | 813 | Anesthesia for upper/lower GI endoscopy | 0.70% | Explore |
| 19 | G0121 | Colon cancer screening, colonoscopy for non-high-risk patient | 0.60% | Explore |
| 20 | V2632 | Posterior chamber intraocular lens | 0.60% | Explore |
| 21 | 69436 | Tympanostomy under general anesthesia | 0.60% | Explore |
| 22 | 64635 | Destruction of lower back joint nerve tissue | 0.60% | Explore |
| 23 | 92134 | Computerized imaging of the retina | 0.60% | Explore |
| 24 | G0105 | Colorectal screening for high-risk patient | 0.60% | Explore |
| 25 | 92014 | Eye exam for established patient | 0.60% | Explore |
Fig. 1. Data from Definitive Healthcare’s Atlas All-Payor Claims Dataset for 2022. Commercial claims data is sourced from multiple medical claims clearinghouses in the United States and updated monthly. Data is accurate as of February 2023.
What are the most common surgical procedures?
According to our data, the most common surgical procedure at ASCs is cataract surgery, representing 6.1% of total ASC procedures. Post-cataract laser surgery also appears on our list, with just under 1% of total procedure share.
Many of the procedures on the list are largely diagnostic and focused on the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Colonoscopies and esophagogastroduodenoscopies take up the second through fifth positions in our rankings, with a combined total of over 6.5 million procedures, or 13.8% of the overall procedure volume.
In addition to cataract and GI-related procedures, epidural injections are the next most performed procedures. Minimally invasive orthopedic surgeries also appear several times among the top 25 procedures.
These trends reinforce the role of specialty surgery centers in healthcare delivery, highlighting the value of affordable and effective care that does not require overnight observation or hospitalization.
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