Procedure Cost Comparison of Outpatient and Inpatient Shoulder Arthroplasty and Lower-Extremity Arthroplasty Within a Managed-Care Organization.

Introduction The authors sought to evaluate cost differences between shoulder arthroplasties and lower-extremity joint replacements in the outpatient and inpatient setting within a large health-maintenance organization. Methods A cross-sectional study of 100 total hip arthroplasties (THA), 100 total knee arthroplasties (TKA), and 100 shoulder arthroplasties (50 anatomical total shoulder arthroplasties and 50 reverse shoulder arthroplasties [RTSA]) was performed at a single regional health care center within an integrated health care maintenance organization. A time-driven activity-based costing methodology was used to obtain total cost of each episode for outpatient (vs) inpatient surgery. Results are presented by procedure type. Results Compared to their respective inpatient procedure, outpatient surgery was less expensive by 20% for RTSA, 22% for total shoulder arthroplasties, 29% for THA, and 30% for TKA. The cost of implants was the highest proportion of cost for all joint procedures across inpatient and outpatient settings, ranging from 28% of the total cost for inpatient THA to 63% of the cost for outpatient RTSA. Discussion Although many factors influence the total cost for arthroplasty surgery, including rate of hospitalization, duration of stay, operative time, complexity of cases, patient factors, equipment, and resource utilization, the implant cost remains the most expensive factor, with hospital bed admission status being the second costliest contribution. Conclusion Outpatient total arthroplasty substantially reduced procedure expenses in a managed-care setting by 20%-30%, although savings for outpatient shoulder arthroplasty was lower than savings for THA or TKA. Implant costs remain the largest portion of shoulder arthroplasty procedure expenses.