The majority of hospitals in APAC revive elective surgeries

Recovery was strongest in long-term care, oncology, orthopaedics, and post-acute care.

About 80% to 90% of hospitals in APAC posted a strong recovery in elective procedures across their surgery departments, said L.E.K. Consulting.

In its report, the consultancy firm said recovery was strongest in long-term care, oncology, orthopaedics, post-acute
care and OBGYN.

Of all regions, India recorded the strongest recovery with its elective procedure volumes next year expected to surpass 2019 levels.

"The significant volume increase is driven in large part by a strong private-sector rebound and double-digit growth in healthcare spend," read the report.

China's elective surgery volumes bounced back to 2019 levels in many departments, including cardiology, oncology and orthopaedics.

Japan’s elective procedures, meanwhile, generated a resilient recovery, with close to a five-fold increase from 2021 to 2023 in the proportion of hospitals reporting above 500 annual elective procedures, and with expectations for further volume recovery in 2024.

In South Korea, elective procedures were mixed, especially in terms of procedures in general surgery (35% of South Korean respondents reporting recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels vs. 75% survey-wide average), cardiology (35% vs. 74%) and gastroenterology (46% vs. 79%).

On the other hand, the number of respondents who reported >500 annual elective procedures more than doubled between 2021 and 2023 (expected), suggesting that the recovery is ongoing, at a slower pace than in other regions.