Total Knee Arthroplasty in the Ambulatory Surgery Center Setting: Best Practices for Cost Containment and Clinical Care Delivery.

As the current population continues to increase in age, so does the degeneration of the musculoskeletal system and the development of knee osteoarthritis. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) will be the treatment of choice when it comes to improving physical function and decreasing pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. The global push for more cost-effective healthcare services has led to new models of care and payment delivery methods such as performing TKA in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) setting. With deeply invasive surgical procedures such as TKA being done in the ASC setting, orthopaedic nurses must be mindful of best practices that will promote quality and safety while considering the importance of using current evidence to guide nursing practice when promoting appropriate patient selection and effective patient education of self-management of postoperative care pertaining to TKA being performed in the ASC setting. This is critical to consider during a time when financial profits in the ASC setting may take a front seat to the delivery of high-quality and safe patient care.

Cost containment: an experience with surgeon education and universal preference cards at two institutions.

BACKGROUND: As the cost of health care increases in the US, focus has been placed upon efficiency, cost reduction, and containment of spending. Operating room costs play a significant role in this spending. We investigated whether surgeon education and universal preference cards can have an impact on reducing the disposable supply costs for common laparoscopic general surgery procedures. METHODS: General surgeons at two institutions participated in an educational session about the costs of the operative supplies used to perform laparoscopic appendectomies and cholecystectomies. All the surgeons at one institution agreed upon a universal preference card, with other supplies opened only by request. At the other, no universal preference cards were created, and surgeons were free to modify their own existing preference cards. Case cost data for these procedures were collected for each institution pre- (July 2014-December 2014) and post-intervention (February 2015-November 2017). RESULTS: At the institution with an education only program, there was no statistically significant change in supply costs after the intervention. At the institution that intervened with the combined education and universal preference card program, there was a statistically significant supply cost decrease for these common laparoscopic procedures combined. This significant cost decrease persisted for each appendectomies and cholecystectomies when analyzed independently as well (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, surgeon education alone was not effective in reducing operating room disposable supply costs. Surgeon education, combined with the implementation of universal preference cards, significantly maintains reductions in operating room supply costs. As health care costs continue to increase in the US and internationally, universal preference cards can be an effective tool to contain cost for common laparoscopic general surgery procedures.

The status of health economic evaluation within decision making in Austria.

BACKGROUND: Given limited resources compared to the demand for them, spending resources efficiently is important. Key methods applied for supporting efficient resource allocation are health economic evaluations. METHODS: Based on secondary literature, we analyze international challenges for using two types of economic evaluations-cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-utility analysis-in reimbursement decisions and reflect on them for the Austrian case. RESULTS: The main challenges with the application of economic evaluations are related to the methods, the decision-making culture, and the respective system. The challenges also apply to the Austrian Bismarck system, where almost no formal requirements for using economic evaluations exist, except on a case-by-case basis. Resource allocation in Austria hence occurs, for the most part, implicitly. CONCLUSION: One way forward towards more explicit efficiency considerations may be to consider more descriptive study types and foster capacity building, standardization of methods and presentation of results, and a mandatory detailed guideline.

Do cost containment policies save money and influence physicians' prescribing behavior? Lessons from South Korea's drug policy for diabetes medication.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluate the effects of drug price reduction policy on pharmaceutical expenditure and prescription patterns in diabetes medication. DESIGN: An interrupted time series study design using generalized estimating equations. SETTING: This study used National Health Insurance claim data from 2010 to 2013. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 68 127 diabetes patients and 12 465 hospitals. INTERVENTION(S): The drug price reduction policy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome is pharmaceutical expenditure and prescription rate. To evaluate changes in prescription rate, we measured prescription rates such a brand-name drug and drug price reduction rate. RESULTS: Although the drug price reduction policy associated with decreased pharmaceutical expenditure (-13.22%, P < 0.0001), the trend (-0.01%, P = 0.9201) did not change significantly compared with the pre-intervention period. In addition, the trends in the monthly prescription rate of brand-name drugs decreased (-0.14%, P = 0.0091), while the immediate change was an increase (5.72%, P < 0.0001). Regardless of the drug reduction rate, the prescription rate after the introduction of the drug price reduction policy decreased compared with the pre-intervention period, and this decline was significant for reduction rates of 0% (-2.74%, P < 0.0001) and 10% (-0.13%, P = 0.0018). CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide evidence of the effects of the drug price reduction policy on pharmaceutical expenditure and prescription patterns. This policy did not affect the prescribing behavior of healthcare providers and did not increase the use of drugs not subject to this policy. Although this study did not observe changes in the cost of pharmaceuticals after the introduction of the drug price reduction policy, further research is needed on the long-term changes in such costs.

Pricing of HPV vaccines in European tender-based settings.

BACKGROUND: Vaccine price is one of the most influential parameters in economic evaluations of HPV vaccination programmes. Vaccine tendering is a cost-containment method widely used by national or regional health authorities, but information on tender-based HPV vaccine prices is scarce. METHODS: Procurement notices and awards for the HPV vaccines, published from January 2007 until January 2018, were systematically retrieved from the online platform for public procurement in Europe. Information was collected from national or regional tenders organized for publicly funded preadolescent vaccination programmes against HPV. The influence of variables on the vaccine price was estimated by means of a mixed-effects model. FINDINGS: Prices were collected from 178 procurements announced in 15 European countries. The average price per dose for the first-generation HPV vaccines decreased from €101.8 (95% CI 91.3-114) in 2007 to €28.4 (22.6-33.5) in 2017, whereas the average dose price of the 9-valent vaccine in 2016-2017 was €49.1 (38.0-66.8). Unit prices were, respectively, €7.5 (4.4-10.6) and €34.4 (27.4-41.4) higher for the 4-valent and 9-valent vaccines than for the 2-valent vaccine. Contract volume and duration, level of procurement (region or country), per capita GDP and number of offers received had a significant effect on vaccine price. INTERPRETATION: HPV vaccine procurement is widely used across Europe. The fourfold decrease in the average tender-based prices compared to list prices confirms the potential of tendering as an efficient cost-containment strategy, thereby expanding the indications for cost-effective HPV vaccination to previously ineligible target groups.

Drug Policy in Estonia.

The aim of this article was to present a general overview of the health care system as well as pricing and reimbursement environment in Estonia. In Estonia the main stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector are the Ministry of Social Affairs, the State Agency of Medicine, and the Estonian Health Insurance Fund. The national health insurance scheme is public, and approximately 95% of the population is covered by it. It is a social insurance, and universal and equal access to health care based on national health insurance is granted. The Estonian Health Insurance Fund is financed from social taxes and state budget and is responsible for the reimbursement of pharmaceuticals in the hospital setting. It acts as an advisory body to the Ministry of Social Affairs on the process of reimbursement regarding cost effectiveness. Pharmaceutical products' reimbursement dossiers submission and decisions are dealt with on the state level. Health technology assessment analyses are required by the authorities and the Baltic Guidelines for Economic Evaluations of Pharmaceuticals have to be followed. The reimbursement lists are positive lists only, and the criteria upon which reimbursement decisions are based are officially defined. Revisions of reimbursement are performed depending on the need and they are based on the prices of reference countries.

Effect of Facility on Operative Costs of Total Ankle Arthroplasties.

Cost containment and bundled payments are becoming increasingly important in health care. The purpose of this study was to investigate if ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) can deliver lower cost care and to identify sources of those cost savings in total ankle replacement (TAR). A cost identification analysis of primary TAR was performed at a single academic medical center. Multiple costs and time measures were taken from 730 consecutive patients over 5 years at either an inpatient facility or ASC. The relationships between total cost and operative time and multiple variables were examined, using multivariate analysis and regression modeling. The mean operative cost over 4 years was significantly greater at the inpatient facility than at the outpatient facility. Significant cost drivers of this difference were inpatient, physical and occupational therapy, pharmacy, and operating room costs. The most significant predictor of cost was facility type. This study supports the use of ASC facilities to achieve efficient resource use in the operative treatment of~total ankle arthroplasties (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 27(4):321-324, 2018).

Skull Base Surgery with Minimal Resources.

BACKGROUND: Skull base surgery needs advanced equipment and is performed at few public sector hospitals in India. For financial and infrastructure reasons, the facilities available are insufficient for the large number of poor patients who need this surgery. METHODS: Neurologically deteriorating poor patients who failed to receive skull base surgery at overloaded public sector hospitals underwent surgery with basic neurosurgical instruments, using the available resources and indigenously designed instruments adhering to the basic principles of skull base surgery. Various lesions operated on in the study were analyzed based on their location and surgical approach. RESULTS: Ninety-one skull base surgeries in 84 patients were performed during 2013-2015. There were 46 males and 38 females, with an average age of 35 years. Surgical treatment included surgery of the craniovertebral junction (n = 43) and lesions of the anterior skull base (n = 7), middle skull base (n = 10), and posterior skull base (n = 31). Lesions were operated on through anterior (n = 10), lateral (n = 14), and posterior and posterolateral (n = 67) skull base approaches. CONCLUSIONS: The facilities available in low-income countries such as India are insufficient to take care of poor patients who need skull base surgery. Indigenous innovations, use of the available resources, and interdisciplinary coordination help overcome the challenges of resource scarcity to a reasonable extent in many ill-equipped public sector hospitals for the safe and efficient management of many patients who need skull base surgery.

Performance Goals for an Adjunct Diagnostic Test to Reduce Unnecessary Biopsies After Screening Mammography: Analysis of Costs, Benefits, and Consequences.

PURPOSE: Because benign biopsies resulting from false-positive mammographic findings are a known harm of breast cancer screening, physicians and test manufacturers are searching for ways to reduce their frequency. The aim of this study was to estimate potential costs and consequences associated with using an adjunct diagnostic test for triaging women with suspicious mammographic findings before biopsy. METHODS: A decision model was developed to compare the use of an adjunct test before biopsy to the current standard of care for suspicious mammographic findings. The decision analysis was performed from the perspective of a national health payer, with a 1-year time horizon among women representative of the US screening population aged 40 to 79 years. Three primary outcomes were assessed: (1) incremental costs, (2) number of benign biopsies avoided, and (3) number of missed opportunities for diagnosing cancer per million women screened. Input parameters were obtained from the medical literature and expert opinion. Sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the effects of uncertainty in parameter estimates. RESULTS: The base-case analysis demonstrated that the use of an adjunct diagnostic test with 95% sensitivity, 75% specificity, and a cost of $1,000 would eliminate 8,127 unnecessary breast biopsies per million women screened. However, this would cost the US health care system an additional $6,462,977 and result in 255 missed opportunities for diagnosing cancer per million women screened. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of an adjunct test for triaging women for breast biopsy after abnormal findings on screening mammography would likely eliminate many unnecessary biopsies but also increase overall health care costs. This exploratory analysis highlights the fact that mammography remains a relatively inexpensive and effective breast cancer screening and diagnostic modality.

The Role of Dedicated Musculoskeletal Urgent Care Centers in Reducing Cost and Improving Access to Orthopaedic Care.

OBJECTIVES: Over the past few years, the United States has seen the rapid growth of dedicated musculoskeletal urgent care centers owned and operated by individual orthopaedic practices. In June of 2014, our practice opened the first dedicated orthopaedic urgent care in the region staffed by physician assistants and supervised by orthopaedic surgeons. Our hypothesis is that such centers can safely improve orthopaedic care for ambulatory orthopaedic injuries, decrease volume for overburdened emergency departments (EDs), reduce wait times and significantly decrease the cost of care while improving access to orthopaedic specialists. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Level 2 trauma center and physician-owned orthopaedic urgent care. PATIENTS: Consecutive series of patients seen in the hospital ED (n = 87,629) and orthopaedic urgent care (n = 12,722). INTERVENTION: None. OUTCOMES: ED wait time, total visit time, time until being seen by provider, time until consultation with orthopaedic surgeon, total visit charges, and effect on orthopaedic practice revenue. RESULTS: During the 12 months of study, 12,722 patients were treated in our urgent care. The average urgent care wait time until being seen by a provider was 17 minutes compared with 45 minutes in hospital ED. Total visit time was 43 minutes in the urgent care and 156 minutes in the hospital ED. Time to being seen by an orthopaedic specialist was 1.2 days for urgent care patients compared with 3.4 days for ED patients. The average charge for an urgent care visit was $461 compared with $8150 in hospital ED. During the course of study, urgent care treatment reduced charges to health care system by $97,819,458. Hospital ED orthopaedic volume did decrease as expected but total ED patient volume remained the same. There was no measureable effect on hospital ED wait times. Hospital surgical case volume did not change over the period of study and the orthopaedic census remained stable. Urgent care construction, marketing, administration, imaging, and labor costs totaled $1,664,445. Urgent care revenue from evaluation and management, imaging, durable medical equipment, and casting totaled $2,577,707. Practice revenue from follow-up care of patients who entered practice through the urgent care totaled $7,657,998. CONCLUSION: Dedicated musculoskeletal urgent care clinics operated by orthopaedic surgery practices can be extremely beneficial to patients, physicians, and the health care system. They clearly improve access to care, whereas significantly decreasing overall health care costs for patients with ambulatory orthopaedic conditions and injuries. In addition, they can be financially beneficial to both patients and orthopaedic surgeons alike without cannibalizing local hospital surgical volumes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III.

Operating Room Efficiency: Benefits of an Orthopaedic Traumatologist at a Level II Trauma Center.

OBJECTIVES: Fellowship-trained orthopaedic traumatologists are presumably taught skill sets leading to "best practice" outcomes and more efficient use of hospital resources. This should result in more favorable economic opportunities when compared with general orthopaedic surgeons (GOSs) providing similar clinical services. The purpose of our study was to compare the operating room utilization and financial data of traumatologists versus GOSs at a level II trauma center. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Level II community-based trauma hospital. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Patients who presented to the emergency room at our institution with fractures and orthopaedic conditions requiring surgical intervention from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2011. INTERVENTION: Operative fracture fixation by members of our orthopaedic trauma panel, including fellowship and nontrauma fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Our institutional database was queried to determine operative times, surgical supply and implant costs, and surgery labor expenses. Patients were stratified according to those treated by our trauma panel's 3 traumatologists and those treated by the 15 GOSs on our trauma panel. These 2 groups were then compared using standard statistical methods. RESULTS: A total of 6449 orthopedic cases were identified and 2076 of these involved fracture care. One thousand one hundred ninety-nine patients were treated by traumatologists and 877 by GOSs. There was no statistical difference detected in American Society of Anesthesiologists score between trauma and nontrauma groups. Overall, the traumatologist group demonstrated significantly decreased procedure times when compared with the GOS group (55.6 vs. 75.8 minutes, P , 0.0001). In 16 of 18 most common procedure types, traumatologists were more efficient. This led to significantly decreased surgical labor costs ($381.4 vs. $484.8; P < 0.0001) and surgical supply and implant costs ($2567 vs. $3003; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that in our communitybased trauma system, fracture care provided by traumatologists results in improved utilization of hospital-based resources when compared with equivalent services provided by GOSs. Significantly decreased operative times, surgical labor expenses, and supply and implant costs by the fellowship-trained group represent enhanced control of the design, plan, execution, and monitoring of orthopaedic trauma care. Traumatologists can provide leadership recommendations for operating room efficiency in community-based orthopaedic trauma care models. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Economic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Operating Room Supply Costs in Orthopaedic Trauma: Cost Containment Opportunities.

In the current health care environment, cost containment is more important than ever. Most physicians currently are unaware of the cost of operating room supplies. A large amount of waste occurs secondary to lack of knowledge and absence of physician incentives for cost saving. Many of the decisions for supply use can be based on good scientific evidence, which supports specific cost saving measures. Careful attention to blood utilization and use of tranexamic acid has the potential to save millions in the hip fracture treatment and arthroplasty treatments. Standardization of surgical preparation and draping can decrease costs and prevent costly surgical site infections. Following protocols and guidelines for bone graft and orthobiologics is critical. The clinical and legal repercussions of retained instruments and costs associated with dropped implants is a huge source of wasted health care dollars. Reprocessing programs for external fixators and tourniquets have been extremely successful. A myriad of opportunities for intraoperative cost savings exist that could be applied to nearly every orthopaedic surgery performed in the United States. It is incumbent on all surgeons to put aside the choices made out of habit and take part in reducing operating room waste for the benefit of hospitals, patients, and the health care system. When applied to the 5.3 million orthopaedic surgeries performed annually in the United States, billions of dollars could easily be saved with no adverse effect on patient care.

The Clinical and Economic Impact of Generic Locking Plate Utilization at a Level II Trauma Center.

OBJECTIVES: In today's climate of cost containment and fiscal responsibility, generic implant alternatives represent an interesting area of untapped resources. As patents have expired on many commonly used trauma implants, generic alternatives have recently become available from a variety of sources. The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical and economic impact of a cost containment program using high quality, generic orthopaedic locking plates. The implants available for study were anatomically precontoured plates for the clavicle, proximal humerus, distal radius, proximal tibia, distal tibia, and distal fibula. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Level II Trauma center. PATIENTS: 828 adult patients with operatively managed clavicle, proximal humerus, distal radius, proximal tibia, tibial pilon, and ankle fractures. INTERVENTION: Operative treatment with conventional or generic implants. RESULTS: The 414 patients treated with generic implants were compared with 414 patients treated with conventional implants. There were no significant differences in age, sex, presence of diabetes, smoking history or fracture type between the generic and conventional groups. No difference in operative time, estimated blood loss or intraoperative complication rate was observed. No increase in postoperative infection rate, hardware failure, hardware loosening, malunion, nonunion or need for hardware removal was noted. Overall, our hospital realized a 56% reduction in implant costs, an average savings of $1197 per case, and a total savings of $458,080 for the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Use of generic orthopaedic implants has been successful at our institution, providing equivalent clinical outcomes while significantly reducing implant expenditures. Based on our data, the use of generic implants has the potential to markedly reduce operative costs as long as quality products are used. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III.

Impact of Hospital-Employed Physician Assistants on a Level II Community-Based Orthopaedic Trauma System.

OBJECTIVES: The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the Orthopedic Trauma Association have released guidelines for the provision of orthopedic trauma services such as adequate stipends, designated operating rooms, ancillary staff, and guaranteed reimbursement for indigent care. One recommendation included a provision for hospital-based physician assistants (PAs). Given current reimbursement arrangements, PA collections for billable services may not meet their salary and benefit expenses. However, their actions may indirectly affect emergency room, operating room, and hospital reimbursement and patient care itself. The purpose of our study is to define the true impact of hospitalbased PAs on orthopaedic trauma care at a level II community hospital. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. SETTING: Level II trauma center. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: One thousand one hundred four trauma patients with orthopaedic injuries. INTERVENTION: PA involvement. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Emergency room data such as triage time, time until seen by the orthopedic service, and total emergency room time was recorded. Operating room data such as time to surgery, set-up time, total operating time, and out of room time was entered as well. Charts were reviewed to determine if patients were given postoperative antibiotics and Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were noted, and lengths of stay were calculated for all patients. RESULTS: At our institution, PA collections from patient care cover only 50% of their costs for salary and benefits. However, with PA involvement, trauma patients with orthopedic injuries were seen 205 minutes faster (P = 0.006), total Emergency Room (ER) time decreased 175 minutes (P = 0.0001), and time to surgery improved 360 minutes (P . 0.03). Operating room parameters were minimally improved, but postoperative DVT prophylaxis increased by a mean of 6.73% (P = 0.0084), postoperative antibiotic administration increased by 2.88% (P = 0.0302), and there was a 4.67% decrease in postoperative complications (P = 0.0034). Average length of stay decreased by 0.61 days (P = 0.27). CONCLUSIONS: Although the PA's collections do not cover their costs, the indirect economic and patient care impacts are clear. By increasing emergency room pull through and decreasing times to Operating Room (OR), operative times, lengths of stay, and complications, their existence is clearly beneficial to hospitals, physicians, and patients as well. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Economic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Bundled Payments for Care Improvement: Lessons Learned in the First Year.

The Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative is the latest cost-saving program developed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. This model is intended to create a system for higher quality and more coordinated care at a lower cost to Medicare. It is currently an optional program for physician groups, hospitals and post-acute care providers to benefit financially from improved care models and cost containment measures. Under the initiative, organizations enter into payment arrangements that include financial and performance accountability for episodes of care. Under this initiative, there are certain fraud and abuse waivers in place that allow gainsharing among BPCI organizations and approved providers so long as certain requirements are met. Our practice entered this initiative for total joint arthroplasty episodes of care as well as the hip and femur fracture episode of care. The first year experience demonstrated that a significant learning curve is required. Keys for success include appropriate patient selection for elective surgery, implant pricing control, adherence to preoperative and postoperative protocols, diligent postcare care management, and appropriate choice of metrics to maximize gainsharing potential. Ultimately, the BPCI program has been a successful venture, saving our hospitals over $1.6 million in 2015. In the process, this provided an additional revenue stream for our physicians while decreasing the overall cost of care.

[Chronic pain care : Reality and entitlement]. / Versorgung chronischer Schmerzen : Wirklichkeit und Anspruch.

From the point of view of healthcare policies, improvement in pain care has been required for years; however, there is a great discrepancy between the current need for pain care and the actual provision by healthcare services. This article seeks to demonstrate that while healthcare policies are one of the critical factors involved, a variety of conceptual, diagnostic and therapeutic causes should also be taken into account. Firstly, considering that pain care is primarily concerned with the suffering of pain by patients, the focus lies with their conscious experience in order to define the patients' understanding of pain. Additionally, in this article current biomedical and psychosocial comprehension concerning chronic pain will be illustrated and why it is necessary to broaden our horizons in order to do justice to patients with chronic pain.