T
he spine sur-
geon's scalpel
has come to
a fork in the
road. Which same-day
ORs shall we bring our
cases to — the hospi-
tal's or the freestanding
surgical center's?
Several factors will
determine where we'll
perform such same-day
procedures as decom-
pression, discectomy,
vertebroplasty, and cer-
vical and lumbar
fusions. How skeptical
your surgeons are.
How hesitant your patients are. And how reluctant your payers are to
reimburse spine cases done in ASCs.
• Skeptical surgeons. Many surgeons are skittish about moving their
spine cases into surgery centers. Most lumbar spine fusions, for exam-
ple, are done on an outpatient basis, but I'd bet that 9 out of 10 of
them are done in a hospital. New-surgeon training could lead to a
J U L Y 2 0 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 1 7
Capture Your Share
Of Same-Day Spine
What factors will influence where yoursurgeons bring their cases?
Praveen Kadimcherla, MD | West Orange, N.J.
• PLACE AT THE TABLE As more surgeons are trained in outpatient spine, more
spine cases will migrate to surgical centers, says Dr. Kadimcherla.
Atlantic
Spine
Center
