Patient-level costs for inpatient total shoulder arthroplasty are significantly higher than an equivalent outpatient procedure, according to research published in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.
Researchers analyzed inpatient and outpatient total shoulder arthroplasty data from 2010 to 2015 using the Texas Health Care Information Collection database. Patient level costs were studied by whether the surgery center was inpatient or outpatient, as well as volume at the centers. Researchers studied a total of 21,331 surgeries.
The key details to know:
1. Inpatient total shoulder arthroplasty costs were $76,109 compared to the outpatient cost of $22,907.
2. Excluding patient charges, inpatient total shoulder arthroplasty was 41.1 percent more expensive than outpatient surgery.
3. High-volume inpatient total shoulder arthroplasty was less expensive than low-volume inpatient surgery, but was still 33.4 percent more expensive than outpatient total shoulder arthroplasty when excluding inpatient-specific charges.
4. Researchers concluded, "In the state of Texas, the patient-level costs of primary elective inpatient [total shoulder arthroplasty] were significantly higher than those of the equivalent outpatient procedure. This difference persisted after exclusion of low-volume inpatient [total shoulder arthroplasty] centers and inpatient-specific ancillary charges."