Healthcare Insights
Top 25 Procedures Performed at Surgery Centers
As medical technology advances and guidelines for routine inpatient surgeries are relaxed, physicians are able to perform a greater number of procedures in the outpatient care setting. This is generally beneficial for patients, as procedural costs at an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) are lower on average than at a hospital or other inpatient facility.
While most hospitals offer outpatient surgery options, ASCs have been praised as a superior choice for certain procedures. This preference is largely due to facility efficiencies and greater regulatory controls for reimbursements under the outpatient prospective payment system.
Definitive Healthcare tracks nearly 3,000 procedure types performed at over 9,000 ASCs. The following lists rank the top 25 procedures performed at surgery centers by procedure volume as well as by total charges.
What is the most commonly performed procedure at an ASC?
In 2018, CPT code 66984—extracapsular cataract removal—was the most performed procedure at ambulatory surgery centers, with over 1.2 million total procedures reported. Botox injections and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) were the second and third most performed procedures, with 894,793 and 527,817 total procedures reported, respectively.
Many of the most common surgery center procedures are diagnostic procedures of the gastrointestinal (GI) system, such as colonoscopies and esophagogastroduodenoscopies. These procedure types appeared 8 times on this list, with a combined total of over 1.8 million total procedures in 2018. Cataract-related surgeries also topped this list, with more than 1.6 million procedures reported in 2018.
In addition to cataract and GI-related procedures, epidural injections are the next most commonly-performed procedures. This trend is consistent with the role of ASCs in healthcare delivery, which is to offer affordable and effective care that does not require overnight observation or other hospitalization.
Top 25 Most Performed Procedures at Ambulatory Surgery Centers
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Rank | HCPCS/CPT Code | HCPCS Description | Number of Procedures | Total Charges | Explore These Claims |
1. | 66984 | EXTRACAPSULAR CATARACT REMOVAL W/ INSERTION OF IO LENS PROSTHESIS W/O ENDOSCOPIC CYCLOPHOTOCOAGULATION | 1,251,164 | $1,203,836,786 | Explore This Code |
2. | J0585 | INJECTION, ONABOTULINUMTOXINA | 894,793 | $5,462,609 | Explore This Code |
3. | 43239 | EGD BIOPSY SINGLE/MULTIPLE | 527,817 | $166,052,761 | Explore This Code |
4. | 45380 | COLONOSCOPY AND BIOPSY | 459,209 | $187,755,470 | Explore This Code |
5. | 45385 | COLONOSCOPY W/LESION REMOVAL | 409,019 | $196,440,448 | Explore This Code |
6. | 64483 | INJ FORAMEN EPIDURAL L/S | 315,173 | $98,275,396 | Explore This Code |
7. | 66821 | AFTER CATARACT LASER SURGERY | 279,440 | $67,857,702 | Explore This Code |
8. | 64493 | INJ PARAVERT F JNT L/S 1 LEV | 226,368 | $64,234,232 | Explore This Code |
9. | 62323 | NJX INTERLAMINAR LMBR/SAC | 184,148 | $50,642,428 | Explore This Code |
10. | G0105 | COLORECTAL SCRN; HI RISK IND | 138,269 | $47,348,253 | Explore This Code |
11. | 45378 | DIAGNOSTIC COLONOSCOPY | 115,168 | $36,627,045 | Explore This Code |
12. | 64635 | DESTROY LUMB/SAC FACET JNT | 112,369 | $79,517,957 | Explore This Code |
13. | G0121 | COLON CA SCRN NOT HI RSK IND | 111,684 | $38,509,195 | Explore This Code |
14. | J3300 | TRIAMCINOLONE A INJ PRS-FREE | 109,465 | $419,165 | Explore This Code |
15. | G0260 | INJ FOR SACROILIAC JT ANESTH | 95,144 | $22,245,165 | Explore This Code |
16. | 66982 | COMPLEX REMOVAL OF CATARACT WITH INSERTION OF LENS | 91,686 | $88,594,583 | Explore This Code |
17. | 52000 | CYSTOSCOPY | 82,909 | $23,479,992 | Explore This Code |
18. | 64490 | INJ PARAVERT F JNT C/T 1 LEV | 75,257 | $21,967,363 | Explore This Code |
19. | 62321 | NJX INTERLAMINAR CRV/THRC | 65,815 | $18,197,660 | Explore This Code |
20. | 15823 | REVISION OF UPPER EYELID | 59,700 | $36,619,604 | Explore This Code |
21. | 43235 | EGD DIAGNOSTIC BRUSH WASH | 59,512 | $19,254,754 | Explore This Code |
22. | 43248 | EGD GUIDE WIRE INSERTION | 50,542 | $17,342,958 | Explore This Code |
23. | 64721 | CARPAL TUNNEL SURGERY | 48,889 | $36,582,656 | Explore This Code |
24. | 26055 | INCISE FINGER TENDON SHEATH | 43,294 | $24,982,443 | Explore This Code |
25. | J7328 | GELSYN-3 INJECTION 0.1 MG | 42,349 | $91,989 | Explore This Code |
Fig 1. Data from Surgery Centers database based on 2018 Medicare Ambulatory Surgery Center Limited Data Set. Calendar year data is projected to be released each January by the CMS. The most recent data is from calendar year 2018; 2019 data is scheduled to be released in January 2021. Accessed May 2020.
The following list details the top 25 procedures performed at ASCs by total charges. Extracapsular cataract removal, CPT code 66984, had the highest total charges, followed by the insertion or replacement of spinal neurostimulator pulse generator, CPT code 63685, with $259.3 million in total charges.
Top 25 Procedures Performed at Surgery Centers by Total Charges
Definitive's Healthcare Insights are developed with data from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights? Start a Free Trial now and get access to the highest quality data and intelligence on hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers.
Rank | HCPCS/CPT Code | HCPCS Description | Number of Procedures | Total Charges | Explore These Claims |
1. | 66984 | EXTRACAPSULAR CATARACT REMOVAL W/ INSERTION OF IO LENS PROSTHESIS W/O ENDOSCOPIC CYCLOPHOTOCOAGULATION | 1,251,164 | $1,203,836,786 | Explore This Code |
2. | 63685 | INSRT/REDO SPINE N GENERATOR | 11,325 | $259,397,185 | Explore This Code |
3. | 45385 | COLONOSCOPY W/LESION REMOVAL | 409,019 | $196,440,448 | Explore This Code |
4. | 45380 | COLONOSCOPY AND BIOPSY | 459,209 | $187,755,470 | Explore This Code |
5. | 63650 | IMPLANT NEUROELECTRODES | 40,151 | $185,590,750 | Explore This Code |
6. | 43239 | EGD BIOPSY SINGLE/MULTIPLE | 527,817 | $166,052,761 | Explore This Code |
7. | 64483 | INJ FORAMEN EPIDURAL L/S | 315,173 | $98,275,396 | Explore This Code |
8. | 0191T | INSERT ANT SEGMENT DRAIN INT | 36,510 | $94,373,543 | Explore This Code |
9. | 66982 | COMPLEX REMOVAL OF CATARACT WITH INSERTION OF LENS | 91,686 | $88,594,583 | Explore This Code |
10. | 64635 | DESTROY LUMB/SAC FACET JNT | 112,369 | $79,517,957 | Explore This Code |
11. | 66821 | AFTER CATARACT LASER SURGERY | 279,440 | $67,857,702 | Explore This Code |
12. | 64493 | INJ PARAVERT F JNT L/S 1 LEV | 226,368 | $64,234,232 | Explore This Code |
13. | 29827 | ARTHROSCOP ROTATOR CUFF REPR | 25,897 | $63,564,800 | Explore This Code |
14. | 64590 | INSRT/REDO PN/GASTR STIMUL | 3,246 | $51,779,518 | Explore This Code |
15. | 62323 | NJX INTERLAMINAR LMBR/SAC | 184,148 | $50,642,428 | Explore This Code |
16. | 36902 | INTRO CATH DIALYSIS CIRCUIT | 18,446 | $47,501,204 | Explore This Code |
17. | G0105 | COLORECTAL SCRN; HI RISK IND | 138,269 | $47,348,253 | Explore This Code |
18. | C9740 | CYSTO IMPL 4 OR MORE | 6,628 | $41,130,006 | Explore This Code |
19. | G0121 | COLON CA SCRN NOT HI RSK IND | 111,684 | $38,509,195 | Explore This Code |
20. | V2785 | CORNEAL TISSUE PROCESSING | 9,630 | $37,718,222 | Explore This Code |
21. | 45378 | DIAGNOSTIC COLONOSCOPY | 115,168 | $36,627,045 | Explore This Code |
22. | 15823 | REVISION OF UPPER EYELID | 59,700 | $36,619,604 | Explore This Code |
23. | 64721 | CARPAL TUNNEL SURGERY | 48,889 | $36,582,656 | Explore This Code |
24. | 22869 | INSJ STABLJ DEV W/O DCMPRN | 2,649 | $32,414,982 | Explore This Code |
25. | 29881 | KNEE ARTHROSCOPY/SURGERY | 23,628 | $29,793,651 | Explore This Code |
Fig 2. Data from Surgery Centers database based on 2018 Medicare Ambulatory Surgery Center Limited Data Set. Calendar year data is projected to be released each January by the CMS. The most recent data is from calendar year 2018; 2019 data is scheduled to be released in January 2021. Accessed May 2020.