Although only 29 percent of hospital stays in the U.S. require a procedure in the operating room, those stays represent almost half of all costs, according to a statistical brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project has issued several reports breaking down the costs and finances of the country's healthcare system. The most recent brief breaks down costs for U.S. hospital stays in 2011 involving OR procedures.
In 2011, inpatient hospitalizations with OR procedures represented 47.9 percent of the aggregate cost for hospitals stays, which equates to more than $185 billion.
Here are six statistics on average costs of hospital stays with OR procedures in 2011, based on the AHRQ and HCUP statistical brief.
Aggregate costs
Hospital stays with OR procedures: $185 billion
Hospital stays without OR procedures: $202 billion
Average (mean) hospital costs
Hospital stays with OR procedures: $16,700
Hospital stays without OR procedures: $7,400
Average (mean) cost per day
Hospital stays with OR procedures: $3,300
Hospital stays without OR procedures: $202 billion
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