Defining and Optimizing Value in Total Joint Arthroplasty From the Patient, Payer, and Provider Perspectives

• Published in: The Journal of arthroplasty Vol. 34; no. 10; pp. 2290 - 2296.e1
• Main Authors: Ahn, Amy, Ferrer, Chris, Park, Chris, Snyder, Daniel J., Maron, Samuel Z., Mikhail, Christopher, Keswani, Aakash, Molloy, Ilda B., Bronson, Michael J., Moschetti, Wayne E., Jevsevar, David S., Poeran, Jashvant, Galatz, Leesa M., Moucha, Calin S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.10.2019
• Subjects: bundle payment programs; patient-reported outcomes; risk adjustment; total joint arthroplasty; value-based care; value-based care; patient-reported outcomes; bundle payment programs; risk adjustment; total joint arthroplasty
• ISSN: 0883-5403; 1532-8406
• DOI: 10.1016/j.arth.2019.05.024

The purpose of this study is to define value in bundled total joint arthroplasty (TJA) from the differing perspectives of the patient, payer/employer, and hospital/provider. Demographic, psychosocial, clinical, financial, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) data from 2017 to 2018 elective TJA cases at a multihospital academic health system were queried. Value was defined as improvement in PROs (preoperatively to 1 year postoperatively) for patients, improvement in PROs per $1000 of bundle cost for payers, and the normalized sum of improvement in PROs and hospital bundle margin for providers. Bivariate analysis was used to compare high value vs low value (>50th percentile vs <50th percentile). Multivariate analysis was performed to identify predictors. A total of 280 patients had PRO data, of which 71 had Medicare claims data. Diabetes (odds ratio [OR], 0.45; P = .02) predicted low value for patients; female gender (OR, 0.25), hypertension (OR, 0.17), pulmonary disease (OR, 0.12), and skilled nursing facility discharge (OR, 0.17) for payers (P ≤ .03 for all); and pulmonary disease (OR, 0.16) and skilled nursing facility discharge (OR, 0.19) for providers (P ≤ .04 for all). This is the first article to define value in TJA under a bundle payment model from multiple perspectives, providing a foundation for future studies analyzing value-based TJA.