High-volume Arthroplasty Centers Are Associated With Lower Hospital Costs When Performing Primary THA and TKA: A Database Study of 288,909 Medicare Claims for Procedures Performed in 2019

Abstract

Higher-volume hospitals incur lower costs, shorter lengths of stay, and higher rates of discharge to home than lower-volume hospitals when performing inpatient THA and TKA. These findings suggest that small and medium-sized regional hospitals are disproportionately impacted by declining reimbursement and may necessitate special treatment to remain viable as bundled payment models continue to erode hospital payments. Further research is also warranted to identify the key drivers of this volume-based cost variation, which may facilitate quality improvement initiatives at the hospital and policy levels.