As a result of the pandemic, a study shared by Becker’s Hospital Review estimates that US hospitals lost approximately $22.3B by delaying elective surgeries. Many hospitals were forced to pause these surgeries to ensure they had the resources needed to care for an influx of COVID-19 patients.
The study, which was published in the Annals of Surgery, was developed to quantify the financial impact of elective surgery cancellations due to the pandemic. Researchers “used data from the nationwide inpatient sample to forecast revenue and elective surgery demand.” In addition, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to calculate an estimated time frame needed to recover the revenue losses. Researchers projected the average time to recover lost revenue was 12 to 22 months and that “rural and urban nonteaching hospitals may face more financial risk amid the pandemic.”
They concluded that “strategies to mitigate the predicted revenue loss of $22.3B due to major elective surgery cessation will vary with hospital-specific supply-demand equilibrium. If patient demand is slow to return, hospitals should focus on marketing of services; if hospital capacity is constrained, efficient capacity expansion may be beneficial.”
