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Economic Impact of COVID-19 on a High-Volume Academic Neurosurgical Practice
Sananthan Sivakanthan1, James Pan1, Louis Kim1
1Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced surgical productivity and revenue in an academic neurosurgery department. Work relative value units (wRVUs) declined by over 50%, impacting both inpatient and outpatient services.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Health Economics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has globally impacted healthcare systems.
- The pandemic has led to significant shifts in healthcare priorities, affecting surgical services.
- Academic neurosurgery departments experienced substantial changes in operations and finances.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the financial impact of COVID-19 on an academic neurosurgery department.
- To analyze changes in surgical productivity and revenue generation post-pandemic onset.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of weekly average daily work relative value units (wRVUs) in fiscal year 2020.
- Comparison of wRVUs before and after the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Analysis of a comparative time period from the previous year.
Main Results:
- A significant drop in daily average wRVUs was observed post-COVID-19, with losses across all examined weeks.
- The mean decline in wRVUs was 51.4% compared to the pre-COVID era.
- Both inpatient and outpatient revenue streams were adversely affected.
Conclusions:
- COVID-19 has had a profound detrimental effect on surgical productivity.
- Revenue generation within academic neurosurgery departments was significantly reduced.
- The findings highlight the substantial financial strain imposed by the pandemic on specialized surgical services.
Background:
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a novel disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that rapidly spread around the globe. The dramatic increase in the number of cases and deaths have placed tremendous strain on health care systems worldwide. As health care workers and society adjust to focus treatment and prevention of COVID-19, other facets of the health care enterprise are affected, particularly surgical volume and revenue. The purpose of this study was to describe the financial impact of COVID-19 on an academic neurosurgery department.
Methods:
A retrospective review of weekly average daily work relative value units (wRVUs) were compared before and after COVID-19 in the fiscal year 2020. A comparative time period of the same months in the year prior was also included for review. We also review strategies for triaging neurosurgical disease as needing emergent, urgent, or routine operative treatment.
Results:
Daily average wRVU after COVID-19 dropped significantly with losses in all weeks examined. Of the 7 weeks in the current post-COVID period, the weekly daily average wRVU was 173 (range, 128-363). The mean decline was 51.4% compared with the pre-COVID era. Both inpatient and outpatient revenue was affected.
Conclusions:
COVID-19 had a profound detrimental effect on surgical productivity and revenue generation.
