Study: Performing total knees in high-volume hospitals could save billions

Editor's Note

If all total knee replacements were performed at high-volume hospitals, it could save the US healthcare system between $2.5 and $4 billion annually by 2030, finds a study presented March 4 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

In this study of nearly 90,000 younger patients and 111,500 Medicare patients, researchers from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City found that:

• Performing total knees in younger patients at high-volume hospitals was associated with the lowest lifetime costs and greatest benefits.
• Hospitals performing the most total knees had significantly greater cost-effectiveness than all other hospital-volume categories.
• Outcomes for Medicare patients were similar to younger patients, but cost savings at very high-volume centers were more modest.

Policy initiatives that guide patients to high-volume centers will not only reduce complications and improve outcomes, but will reduce the large financial burden total knee replacement places on the healthcare system, the authors say.

Add to Favorites Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise - If all patients scheduled for knee replacement were directed to high-volume hospitals for the surgery, it could save the U.S. healthcare system between $2.5 and $4 billion annually by the year 2030, according to a study at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City.