Author(s)

Alexandra M. Ball¹, Jia Yu^2*

¹Bridgeport Hospital-Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport, CT, USA.
²Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, USA.

The purpose of this research is to evaluate clinical and cost effectiveness of total knee replacement surgery (TKA) for adults hospitalized in the United States between 2010 and 2013. We tried to answer the question that whether lower length of stay and higher utilization of post-op facilities would be helpful to control the overall costs. Using the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) database and cost data from Blue Cross Blue shield, this study seeks to identify which U.S. region renders the highest quality patient care during a three-year span of 2008-2010. Using length of stay and discharge disposition (2010) as input factors, and regional TKA costs (2013) as output factors, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a non-parametric method, illustrated the efficiency ranking of four regions in the US on TKA expenditures. The result shows the West is the most efficient region on controlling the overall cost by shrinking the length of stay and increasing the utilization of short-term/long-term care facilities.

Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA), Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Cost Efficiency, Quality of Care

M. Ball, A. and Yu, J. (2020) Cost Containment of Total Knee Arthroplasty in the US: DEA Analysis on Regional Cost and Clinical Comparison between 2010 and 2013. Health, 12, 532-547. doi: 10.4236/health.2020.126042.