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COVID-19 has rocked the entire healthcare ecosystem and pediatric surgery is no exception. Some may think that because there have been fewer cases of COVID-19 reported in children compared to adults, pediatric surgeons would not be disrupted as much as their adult counterparts, but in fact COVID-19 is dramatically shifting the pediatric surgery landscape. Here are three ways that COVID-19 is changing pediatric surgery.

Mounting Margin Pressures

The pandemic has taken a toll on pediatric surgical volume. Elective surgeries were postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic, not all of which will not be rescheduled.

This reduction in volume is exacerbated by a shift in payor mix as millions of children lost their health insurance during the pandemic. Rescheduled elective surgeries are likely to have a higher proportion of patients on Medicaid and a lower proportion of patients with employee sponsored health insurance as Medicaid/CHIP enrollment increased by 8.6% nationally between February 2020, right before the pandemic began, and September 2020https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2772537

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  • Surgical Directions

    Surgical Directions is the nation’s premier clinician-driven perioperative consulting, technology, and workforce solutions organization. We have an unmatched depth of knowledge in the procedural space, with solutions that have been perfected over 25 years and across more than 500 healthcare clients.

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At Surgical Directions, We Offer a Variety of Perioperative Optimization Services.

Surgical Directions

Surgical Directions is the nation’s premier clinician-driven perioperative consulting, technology, and workforce solutions organization. We have an unmatched depth of knowledge in the procedural space, with solutions that have been perfected over 25 years and across more than 500 healthcare clients.