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Practice patterns in the U.S.
Practice Patterns in the U.S.
t the April 2002 meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in Chicago, IL, there were two sessions dealing with new developments in the practice of neurosurgery. A summary of some of the highlights follows:
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Survey of neurosurgeons’ practice patterns Cathy Gilmore, a member of NeuroSource, a business that provides billing and other services to neurosurgeons’ practices around the United States, presented data that NeuroSource had accumulated about the practices they serve. Generally, neurosurgeons performed 240 operations per year. Three staff people were required to support each neurosurgeon. Most neurosurgeons had physician assistants to help them. These PAs do pay for themselves by enabling the neurosurgeon to generate additional work. In the academic setting, neurosurgeons collected 39% of what they billed, while neurosurgeons in private practice collected 34 to 42%. On average, each neurosurgeon collected $700,000 to $800,000
0090-3019/02/$–see front matter PII S0090-3019(02)00890-X
in revenue, indicating that the surgeons had actually billed more than twice that amount. Of the revenues collected by the neurosurgeons, 54% went toward compensation, while 46% was consumed by overhead and expenses. NeuroSource found that industry is interested in the neurosciences because of the aging population— there will be 90 million people with potential neurological disease. Technological advances are being made that will help to diagnose and treat this population. Growth areas for neurosurgeons include stroke and degenerative diseases. Neurosurgery is a lucrative specialty for U.S. hospitals; however, the hospitals suffer from poor physician leadership. One neurosurgical group has opened a spine hospital. It is important for neurosurgeons to offer a continuum of care to spine patients so that they can capture the revenues from physical therapy, acupuncture, epidural steroid injections, and similar nonsurgical procedures. The results of the NeuroSource survey were consistent with a larger practice survey conducted in the U.S. James I. Ausman, M.D., Ph.D. Editor
© 2002 by Elsevier Science Inc. 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010
t the April 2002 meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in Chicago, IL, there were two sessions dealing with new developments in the practice of neurosurgery. A summary of some of the highlights follows:
A
Survey of neurosurgeons’ practice patterns Cathy Gilmore, a member of NeuroSource, a business that provides billing and other services to neurosurgeons’ practices around the United States, presented data that NeuroSource had accumulated about the practices they serve. Generally, neurosurgeons performed 240 operations per year. Three staff people were required to support each neurosurgeon. Most neurosurgeons had physician assistants to help them. These PAs do pay for themselves by enabling the neurosurgeon to generate additional work. In the academic setting, neurosurgeons collected 39% of what they billed, while neurosurgeons in private practice collected 34 to 42%. On average, each neurosurgeon collected $700,000 to $800,000
0090-3019/02/$–see front matter PII S0090-3019(02)00890-X
in revenue, indicating that the surgeons had actually billed more than twice that amount. Of the revenues collected by the neurosurgeons, 54% went toward compensation, while 46% was consumed by overhead and expenses. NeuroSource found that industry is interested in the neurosciences because of the aging population— there will be 90 million people with potential neurological disease. Technological advances are being made that will help to diagnose and treat this population. Growth areas for neurosurgeons include stroke and degenerative diseases. Neurosurgery is a lucrative specialty for U.S. hospitals; however, the hospitals suffer from poor physician leadership. One neurosurgical group has opened a spine hospital. It is important for neurosurgeons to offer a continuum of care to spine patients so that they can capture the revenues from physical therapy, acupuncture, epidural steroid injections, and similar nonsurgical procedures. The results of the NeuroSource survey were consistent with a larger practice survey conducted in the U.S. James I. Ausman, M.D., Ph.D. Editor
© 2002 by Elsevier Science Inc. 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010