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  • Title: What is the Best Strategy to Minimize After-Care Costs for Total Joint Arthroplasty in a Bundled Payment Environment?
    Author: Slover JD, Mullaly KA, Payne A, Iorio R, Bosco J.
    Journal: J Arthroplasty; 2016 Dec; 31(12):2710-2713. PubMed ID: 27344351.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: The post-acute care strategies after lower extremity total joint arthroplasty including the use of post-acute rehabilitation centers and home therapy services are associated with different costs. Providers in bundled payment programs are incentivized to use the most cost-effective strategies. METHODS: We used decision analysis to examine the impact of extending the inpatient hospital stay to avoid discharge of patients to a post-acute rehabilitation facility. RESULTS: The results of this decision analysis show that extended acute hospital care for up to 5.2 extra days to allow for home discharge, rather than discharge to a post-acute inpatient facility can be financially preferable, provided quality is not negatively impacted. CONCLUSION: The data demonstrate that because the cost of additional acute care hospital days is relatively small and because the cost of an extended post-acute inpatient rehabilitation facility is high, keeping patients in the acute facility for a few extra days and then discharging them directly to home may result in an overall lower cost than discharge after a shorter hospital stay to an expensive post-acute facility. However, this approach will have challenges, and future studies are needed to evaluate this change in strategy.
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