FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe Martin, Communications Director
717-232-6787 or
Harrisburg, PA - June 10, 2005 - Hospital readmissions due to complications following total hip and knee replacement surgery resulted in $35 million in hospital charges and nearly 7,700 additional hospital days, according to a new report by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4). Readmissions due to deep joint infection and device failure resulted in $30 million in charges and 6,095 hospital days, blood clots resulted in $2.4 million in charges and 889 days and wound infections resulted in $2.7 million in charges and 703 hospital days. Statewide, the complication rate for deep joint infection or device problem was 2.4%; for blood clots, 1.3%; and for wound infection, 0.5%.
"This report demonstrates that most hospitals and orthopaedic surgeons in Pennsylvania are providing good to excellent care overall," stated Marc P. Volavka, Executive Director of PHC4. " However, variation in readmissions due to complications and infections continue to present major opportunities for quality improvement and cost containment."
Total hip and knee replacements are major surgical procedures in which certain parts of a damaged or arthritic hip or knee are removed and replaced with an artificial joint. While joint replacements are performed on other joints such as ankles, feet, shoulders, elbows and fingers, total hip and knee replacements are the most common.
Total hip and knee replacements have steadily increased in Pennsylvania in recent years. Between 1993 and 2002, knee replacements have increase 70.1% and hip replacements have increased 48.6%. Bilateral total joint replacements, in which both knees or both hips are replaced during the same hospital stay under one anesthesia, have also become more widespread. From 1993 to 2002, bilateral knee replacements nearly tripled – from 3.4% to 9%. Bilateral hip replacements also increased albeit not as significantly – from 1.2% to 2.2% over the same period of time.
"No other state in the nation has produced a physician-specific report on any treatment category other than heart bypass surgery," said Mr. Volavka. "I’m proud that the Council has once again broken new ground in providing objective, comparative data to the public."
The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council is an independent state agency charged with collecting, analyzing and reporting information that can be used to make more informed decisions, thereby improving the quality and restraining the cost of health care in Pennsylvania. Copies of the new report are free and can be ordered by calling PHC4 at (717) 232-6787 or can be accessed at PHC4's website at http://www.phc4.org.