Document Detail


Controlling costs without compromising quality: paying hospitals for total knee replacement.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20808259     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
BACKGROUND: Unit costs of health services are substantially higher in the United States than in any other developed country in the world, without a correspondingly healthier population. An alternative payment structure, especially for high volume, high cost episodes of care (eg, total knee replacement), is needed to reward high quality care and reduce costs. METHODS: The National Inpatient Sample of administrative claims data was used to measure risk-adjusted mortality, postoperative length-of-stay, costs of routine care, adverse outcome rates, and excess costs of adverse outcomes for total knee replacements performed between 2002 and 2005. Empirically identified inefficient and ineffective hospitals were then removed to create a reference group of high-performance hospitals. Predictive models for outcomes and costs were recalibrated to the reference hospitals and used to compute risk-adjusted outcomes and costs for all hospitals. Per case predicted costs were computed and compared with observed costs. RESULTS: Of the 688 hospitals with acceptable data, 62 failed to meet effectiveness criteria and 210 were identified as inefficient. The remaining 416 high-performance hospitals had 13.4% fewer risk-adjusted adverse outcomes (4.56%-3.95%; P < 0.001; χ) and 9.9% lower risk-adjusted total costs ($12,773-$11,512; P < 0.001; t test) than all study hospitals. Inefficiency accounted for 96% of excess costs. CONCLUSIONS: A payment system based on the demonstrated performance of effective, efficient hospitals can produce sizable cost savings without jeopardizing quality. In this study, 96% of total excess hospital costs resulted from higher routine costs at inefficient hospitals, whereas only 4% was associated with ineffective care.
Authors:
Michael Pine; Donald E Fry; Barbara L Jones; Roger J Meimban; Gregory J Pine
Related Documents :
8106909 - Cost-effectiveness in the hospital use of antibiotics: introductory considerations.
10276289 - Formulary management to reduce cost: p & t committee strategies.
10107499 - Regulatory intensity and hospital cost growth.
23081849 - Applying the balanced scorecard approach in teaching hospitals: a literature review and...
10816629 - Financial impact of tertiary care in an academic medical center.
10742779 - Clinical benchmark for gastric stapling procedures.
1595359 - The st. george's dementia bed investigation study: a comparison of clinical and patholo...
19202849 - Durianella, a new gasteroid genus of boletes from malaysia.
22978729 - Observational study of telephone consults by stroke experts supporting community tissue...
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Medical care     Volume:  48     ISSN:  1537-1948     ISO Abbreviation:  Med Care     Publication Date:  2010 Oct 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-09-22     Completed Date:  2010-10-08     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0230027     Medline TA:  Med Care     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  862-8     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Michael Pine and Associates, Chicago, IL 60615, USA. michaelorjoan@yahoo.com
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / economics*,  statistics & numerical data
Cost Control / statistics & numerical data
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Efficiency, Organizational
Fee-for-Service Plans / economics
Female
Hospital Charges / statistics & numerical data*
Hospital Costs / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Length of Stay / economics
Male
Middle Aged
Osteoarthritis, Knee / economics
Reimbursement Mechanisms / economics*
United States
Young Adult

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Cost-Effectiveness of a Quality Improvement Collaborative Focusing on Patients With Diabetes.
Next Document:  Impact of Predialysis Therapeutic Practices on Patient Outcomes During the First Year of Dialysis: T...