Effect of Orthopedic Resident Surgical Education on Surgical Case Length and Healthcare Costs.
Resident involvement in hand surgery cost the hospital $71,000 from 2020 to 2023.
Effect of Orthopedic Resident Surgical Education on Surgical Case Length and Healthcare Costs.
The study investigates the impact of resident involvement in orthopedic hand surgery, focusing on operative and room times, as well as the associated opportunity costs to physicians and the hospital.
Assessed included isolated endoscopic carpal tunnel release, isolated trigger finger release, thumb carpometacarpal joint interpositional arthroplasty, and isolated De Quervain release.
A total of 1,057 surgical cases were identified.
The mean operative and room times were significantly longer when residents were involved in endoscopic carpal tunnel release, trigger finger release, and carpometacarpal procedures.
No significant differences were found in mean operative and room times for De Quervain procedures.
This novel study highlights the cost of resident education in orthopedic hand surgery. Resident surgical involvement is critical to their training.
It is evident that there is a substantial cost associated with educating resident physicians that impacts both teaching surgeons and hospitals.
The continued development of appropriate compensation models is necessary to continue to encourage resident participation while managing costs effectively. TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Economic and decision analysis II.