This is an elective procedure for patients who have not had relief of back pain through more conservative treatment options.
Thus the rush to get expensive elective procedures completed while someone else is picking up most of the bill.
In recent years, as more people have elective procedures, what was once a private, or even shameful, act of vanity, has gone public.
All elective procedures are canceled for now, but there is the usual activity.
The result was seen in increased wait times, particularly for elective procedures.
Doctors, therefore, are paid directly by the growing numbers of people able to pay for elective procedures.
For example, he explained, the hospital has lost the summer business it generally does in elective procedures.
If you're close to losing money, try to move up an elective procedure that you may have been planning for the following year.
But short of that, most back surgery is an elective procedure.
As with any elective procedure, it is important to remember you are a consumer, not a patient.