Hospitals could save $23.7 million for knee implants and $19.1 million for hip implants, according to a Premier analysis.
Here are four things to know.
1. The analysis of 869 hospitals between October 2015 to March 2017 found improvements in length-of-stay, with half of all total joint replacement cases falling between two and three days.
2. Only 3.1 percent of cases, or 9,956 out of 283,708, were readmitted to the hospital.
3. In an in-depth examination of provider costs at 350 hospitals in 2017, Premier found a $1,500 difference between the top-performing and bottom-performing hospitals for knee implants and a $1,700 difference for hip implants. If all hospitals were able to meet or exceed the top 25th percentile pricing and close the gap, they could save millions in costs.
4. Hospitals with the lowest implant costs used the following best practices to secure favorable pricing:
- Cleanse and understand data for a comprehensive view of hip and knee device costs.
- Benchmark pricing against peers to examine variation.
- Have a data expert who understands the health system's culture, trends, surgeon preferences and vendor relationships help develop an approach to pricing and savings opportunities.
- Get surgeons on board to align on goals and ensure effective pricing parity.
You can download the report here.
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