A study published in The Journal of Arthroplasty was performed to determine whether high-volume total joint hospitals perform better than their lower-volume counterparts. The results showed a positive association between joint replacement volumes and overall hospital quality.
Here are five key notes:
1. The three pay-for-performance programs implemented by the CMS to define quality and seek to reward high-performing hospitals and penalize poor-performing hospitals are:
• Penalties for hospital-acquired conditions
• Penalties for excess readmission for certain conditions
• Performance on value-based purchasing
2. The Journal of Arthroplasty used data from the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database on New York State hospitals from 2013 to 2015 for total knee and hip arthroplasty. The study authors compared this data to 123 hospitals in New York participating in all three Medicare pay-
for-performance programs.
3. The results showed hospitals in New York State performed an average of 1,136.59 total joint replacement surgeries and achieved an average readmission penalty of 0.006.
4. The correlation coefficient between surgery volume and combined performance score was 0.277.
5. These findings are consistent with previously reported associations between patient outcomes and procedure volumes.