Benchmarks across orthopedics, podiatry, spine, pain, GI, cardiology, and ophthalmology platforms. Published June 2025.
Cancellations and no-shows drain 9–13% of scheduled OR volume across every surgical specialty. This report quantifies the leakage by specialty for a 10-provider practice baseline, models the recoverable share under auto-fill conditions, and documents wave-by-wave time-to-fill distributions observed across the CaseFlow network.
→ Calculate your practice's specific leakageAll figures are for a 10-provider practice baseline (2 OR days/provider, 240 slots/OR/year). Leakage = gross cancelled revenue. Recovery = leakage × 0.85 confidence factor (see methodology).
| Specialty | Avg Cancel Rate | Avg Slot Value | Annual Leakage (10-provider) | Recoverable (0.85 factor) | Time-to-Fill W1 / W2 / W3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orthopedics | 11.2% | $8,200 | $4,408,320 | $3,747,072 | 8m / 22m / 47m |
| Podiatry | 11.8% | $3,100 | $1,755,840 | $1,492,464 | 7m / 19m / 41m |
| Spine | 11.5% | $9,100 | $5,023,200 | $4,269,720 | 9m / 24m / 52m |
| Pain Management | 13.2% | $1,900 | $1,203,840 | $1,023,264 | 6m / 17m / 38m |
| GI / Endoscopy | 9.8% | $2,800 | $1,317,120 | $1,119,552 | 7m / 18m / 40m |
| Cardiology | 9.4% | $12,400 | $5,594,880 | $4,755,648 | 11m / 28m / 58m |
| Ophthalmology | 10.8% | $3,200 | $1,658,880 | $1,410,048 | 8m / 21m / 45m |
Cancel rates are derived from network-aggregate slot data across CaseFlow pilot practices. Slot values represent net revenue per OR slot (collections basis), not charge master rates. The 0.85 confidence factor accounts for cases where the waitlisted patient does not confirm within the 60-second window, ultimately declines, or where the slot cannot be filled due to patient readiness constraints. See Section 4 for full methodology.
CaseFlow fires three tiers of waitlist outreach (Wave 1: top-scored matches; Wave 2: broader pool; Wave 3: broadcast) on a cascading timer. Median minutes-to-fill across the network:
Cardiology fills slowest (median 58m Wave 3) due to higher clinical complexity. Pain management fills fastest (38m Wave 3) driven by large waitlist depth in most practices.
Not every opened slot gets filled. Our confidence factor is derived from observed fill rates across the CaseFlow network and applied uniformly across specialties in conservative projections.
The remaining 85% represents slots where the automated fill sequence successfully converts a cancelled slot into a completed surgical case with collected revenue. This matches confirmed pilot outcomes across ortho, GI, and podiatry practices.
Includes specialty-by-specialty breakdowns, the complete methodology, and a one-page executive summary you can forward to your CFO or PE sponsor.
Download Free PDF Start a Pilot →Every figure in this report is derived from a consistent formula applied to specialty-level benchmark inputs. No inputs are fabricated — they originate from the same constants used in our live simulator and CFO board presentations.
leakage = providers × avg_ors × slots_per_or_year × cancel_rate × avg_slot_value
Where: providers = 10 (baseline); avg_ors = 2 OR days/provider; slots_per_or_year = 240; cancel_rate and avg_slot_value are specialty-specific benchmarks derived from network data.
recovery = leakage × 0.85 (confidence_factor)
The 0.85 confidence factor is held constant across specialties. Practices with deeper waitlists, bilingual outreach, and pre-verified patient readiness records consistently outperform 0.85 in live operation.
Wave 1 / 2 / 3 medians represent the 50th-percentile observed minutes-to-first-confirmed-YES within each wave tier, aggregated across CaseFlow pilot practices by specialty cohort. Practices with <50 waitlisted patients per OR exhibit longer Wave 3 tails.
If you operate a multi-practice surgical platform, the per-practice leakage numbers scale directly. A 40-practice orthopedic platform with a 10-provider average carries roughly $24M in annual cancellation leakage — and can recover $20M of it under auto-fill.