Using the latest data forecast from Sg2, a Vizient company, the graphic below illustrates how the outpatient shift will continue to accelerate through 2034. Home-based care and outpatient services, including ambulatory surgery centers, are projected to be the fastest growing care sites over the next decade, with volumes increasing 22% and 14% respectively. Sg2 forecasts that physician offices, emergency departments, and inpatient settings will experience more modest volumes increases, whereas skilled nursing facilities and retail care volumes are predicted to decline. Additionally, although the initial outpatient procedural shift was largely focused on orthopedics, the next wave of outpatient volume growth will come from other service lines. Driven by regulatory changes, as well as patient demand, outpatient cardiovascular volumes are expected to increase by 25% over the next decade, closely followed by neurosciences at 23%. Continued health system investment into higher-acuity outpatient care remains crucial.
