Then and now: Comparisons of outpatient procedures, physician and RN salaries, and other data, past and present

Then and now

Top outpatient procedures

Then: dilation and curettage, tubal ligation, myringotomy, orthopedics, excision of skin lesion, dental procedures, adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy, diagnostic laparoscopy, vasectomy, cystoscopy (1978)

Now: insertion of intraocular lens, phacoemulsification and aspiration of cataract, discission of secondary membrane (after cataract), intracapsular extraction of lens, extracapsular extraction of lens, colonoscopy, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with closed biopsy, endoscopy of small intestine, cystoscopy, closed (endoscopic) biopsy of large intestine (2002)

Membership of Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)

Then: 24,662 (1977)

Now: 35,509 (2002)

Salary of RN

Then: $396 weekly (1983)

Now: $829 (2001)

Salary of physician

Then: $502 weekly (includes physician managers) (1983)

Now: $1,258 (2001)

Accreditation cost by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

Then: Ambulatory, three-year cycle: $1,600; Hospital, two-year cycle: $4,500 (1977)

Now: Ambulatory, three-year cycle: $9,500; Hospital, three-year cycle: $23,000 (2001)

Number of surveys by Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care

Then: 45 completed, 150 requested (1979)

Now: 1,421 completed (2001)

Percentage of hospitals offering outpatient surgery

Then: 4,829 (82.8%) of 5,830 community hospitals (1980)

Now: 3,870 (91.8%) of 4,217 community hospitals (2000)

Sources: Same-Day Surgery in Atlanta; SMG Marketing in Chicago; Association of periOperative Registered Nurses in Denver; Labor Force Statistics Office in Washington, DC; Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care in Wilmette, IL; Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, IL; American Hospital Association in Chicago.