Five articles focusing on various aspects of health economics comprise the March issue of the AAHKS open-access journal Arthroplasty Today. Mark J. Spangehl, MD, Associate Editor, references the increase in research papers and symposia presented at orthopaedic meetings. “The United States has the most expensive health care per capita in the world without necessarily delivering the highest quality or best outcomes for all patients. Because of increasing financial constraints, government, payers, and society will continue to challenge us to improve the value of care (less cost without compromising outcomes) for patients,” he said in the editorial.
Featured articles:
Variation in the cost of care for primary total knee arthroplasties
Derek A. Haas, Robert S. Kaplan
Financial impact of total hip arthroplasty: a comparison of anterior versus posterior surgical approaches
Noah M. Joseph, Jared Roberts, Michael T. Mulligan
Improving value in primary total joint arthroplasty care pathways: changes in inpatient physical therapy staffing
Christopher E. Pelt, Mike B. Anderson, Robert Pendleton, Matthew Foulks, Christopher L. Peters, Jeremy M. Gililland
Surgical site infection and transfusion rates are higher in underweight total knee arthroplasty patients
Jorge Manrique, Antonia F. Chen, Miguel M. Gomez, Mitchell G. Maltenfort, William J. Hozack