Hospital staff shortages and supply-chain disruption limited procedure volume growth in the third quarter, suggesting that the challenges will again affect medtech financial results.
That is the conclusion of a Stifel survey of 150 U.S. surgeons working in interventional cardiology, general surgery and orthopedics. The interventional cardiologists gave the most pessimistic responses, reporting that they performed fewer transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures than in the second quarter.

Though calling a surgery “elective” may suggest that it is a choice, in general, elective procedures are those that can be scheduled in advance, and delaying them is not life-threatening. It is a procedure that does not need to be done at the moment “to maintain life or limb,” explained Brian Cole, chair of surgery at Rush Oak Park Hospital in Chicago. “But it’s a very nebulous term to call something elective.”

Last year, this designation included almost all operations, including heart and cancer surgeries. Experts agree this initially made sense in the face of personal protective equipment shortages and limited hospital beds. Now that hospitals are better prepared and no longer facing these shortages, many are being more selective about what gets canceled. Instead of a general pause, most hospitals are examining case by case to determine whether and how long a particular procedure can be delayed.

Device makers train sales reps to offer surgeons technical guidance in the operating room on the use of their products. They pay prominent surgeons to tout their implants at medical conferences — and athletes to offer celebrity endorsements. The industry says these practices help ensure that patients receive the highest-quality care.

But a KHN investigation found these practices also have been blamed for contributing to serious patient harm in thousands of medical malpractice, product liability and whistleblower lawsuits filed over the past decade.