Examining the Instability of Elective Procedures

When COVID-19 spread throughout the world, the healthcare industry took sweeping changes to meet new demands. This led to unprecedented changes to who receives care, how they access it, and even when they can receive it. It was a roller coaster of extreme capacity issues in both directions – meaning there could be a range of low to no volume patients to being at capacity or higher due to COVID-19 spikes. 
 
Amid all of this, nonurgent visits and elective procedures were canceled, which has resulted in the loss of significant revenue streams. For over 100 hospitals, the year ended with a second round of cancelling elective procedures. These procedures represent a major source of funds for health systems. In fact, a recent analysis shows that hospitals earn about $700 more on each elective admission than on each patient admitted through the emergency department.  
 
In this first session, we discuss:
•    The 2020 timeline and the impact on procedures & processes
•    Tips & tactics to manage the surgery backlog and get back up and running quickly in 2021
•    The most successful strategies that hospitals implemented during the pandemic