Effect of surgery setting for outpatient shoulder procedures on early postoperative complications in a military population.

Background: There has been a recent push to transition procedures previously performed at hospital-based outpatient surgical departments (HOPDs) to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). However, limited data regarding differences in early postoperative complications and care utilization (eg, emergency department visits and unplanned admissions) may drive increased overall costs or worse outcomes.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in early 90-day adverse outcomes and postoperative emergency department visits associated with shoulder surgeries excluding arthroplasties that were performed in HOPDs and ASCs in a closed military health care system.