Business Modeling of Orthopaedic Trauma in the Emergency Department: An Untapped Revenue Stream

Emergency departments (EDs) and emergency medicine and orthopaedic residencies can be faced with financial challenges while caring for patients. Procedures performed by residents are a potentially viable source of revenue that may make orthopaedic coverage of the ED a financially viable service line.

A custom text-mining program was created and validated, which allowed evaluation of all orthopaedic resident notes. Procedures performed in the ED were quantified, allowing for the calculation of professional fee billing data. The patients with distal radius fractures were followed after fracture reduction through final outpatient clinic follow-up to identify additional professional fee billing.

Over a 1-year period, more than $445,000 in uncaptured professional fees charged was identified in the 12 most common Current Procedural Terminology codes for splint application and fracture reduction in the ED. More than $395,000 of outpatient professional revenue was received for patients who had reduction of distal radius fractures in the ED.

A notable, previously unrecognized and uncaptured source of revenue was identified and quantified. Professional fee billing for distal radius fracture reduction in the ED did not have a negative effect on outpatient professional fee revenue received for these patients.