By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    physical health
    5 Ways Playing Games Can Improve Neural and Physical Health
    September 9, 2022
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    February 16, 2022
    healthcare organization
    5 Actionable Strategies For Healthcare Organizations
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    email marketing in healthcare
    Harnessing the Power of Email Marketing in Healthcare
    October 26, 2023
    healthcare claims
    The Role of Communication in Resolving Complex Workers’ Compensation Claims in Healthcare Settings
    September 22, 2024
    Wounds and Wisdom: What Motorcycle Accidents Teach Us About Health and Healing
    Wounds and Wisdom: What Motorcycle Accidents Teach Us About Health and Healing
    February 12, 2025
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Reducing Readmissions and Costs for Total Joint Replacement
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Technology > Medical Devices > Reducing Readmissions and Costs for Total Joint Replacement
BusinessMedical DevicesMedical InnovationsSpecialties

Reducing Readmissions and Costs for Total Joint Replacement

Anne Weiler
Last updated: July 14, 2015 4:53 am
Anne Weiler
Share
4 Min Read
Screen Shot 2015-07-12 at 4.00.51 PM
SHARE

Last week CMS announced a major new initiative for Total Joint Replacement, aimed at both reducing and reconciling costs. Total joint replacements are predicted to increase at a rate of 30% to 2020. Demographics are the major driver: people are getting joint replacements at a younger age, and may have more than one in their lifetime.

Last week CMS announced a major new initiative for Total Joint Replacement, aimed at both reducing and reconciling costs. Total joint replacements are predicted to increase at a rate of 30% to 2020. Demographics are the major driver: people are getting joint replacements at a younger age, and may have more than one in their lifetime. On the one hand, more active baby boomers have put greater strain on their joints by running marathons, and on the other an overweight population is putting more strain on their joints just by walking around.

Since the demand is increasing, and the costs fluctuate wildly, up to 100% by Medicare’s estimates, the opportunities to look for costs savings and to reward based on outcomes is key. Like other bundled payment recommendations, Medicare is looking at the 90-day readmission rates and also using a carrot and stick reimbursement approach.

“Depending on the hospital’s quality and cost performance during the episode, the hospital may receive an additional payment or be required to repay Medicare for a portion of the episode costs.”

While private payers often follow Medicare, this is one area where Medicare cites that it is following a trend that has already been piloted in private scenarios, most notably with self-insured employers contracting directly with healthcare systems on fixed-price knee and hip replacements, like the deals Walmart and Lowe’s have struck directly with hospitals.

More Read

Avoiding Accidents and Injury at the Gym
How Health Facilities Can Prepare For Natural Disasters
Predictors of Hospitalization in Congestive Heart Failure Patients
What More People Can Do to Improve Their Teeth
Sun Protection Tips Outdoor Workers Must Follow to Avoid Skin Cancer

Screen Shot 2015-07-12 at 4.00.51 PMThe American Hospital Association is also ahead of the curve on this trend, and they published some recommendations in a 2013 report entitled “Moving Towards Bundled Payment.” In it, they also noted the wide fluctuations in pricing between health systems for total joint replacement, and also that 33% of the costs of a total-joint replacement come from post-acute care.

Screen Shot 2015-07-12 at 4.01.13 PM
Our research has shown that a large driver of these costs is discharge setting related. While the majority of patients do better when discharged to home, they were being discharged to skilled nursing instead as a “belt and suspenders” type of back up. Discharging to the right setting, can improve patient experience and lower costs. However discharge to home requires the right type of patient tools. Patients need to have great educational materials, the ability to track their progress, and the ability to get remote help if they need it. This is something we’re passionate about at Wellpepper, and we are working with a number of leading health systems that are moving to bundled payments to help them digitize the pre and post surgical instructions and collect patient reported outcomes. We’d like to be part of the solution for both patients and providers as we move to these new models of care and reimbursement.

The Medicare proposal is open for public comment for the next 60 days. It’s over 400 pages long, so you may want to print a copy and take it for a little light beach reading.

 

TAGGED:health costsHealthcarejoint replacement
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share
By Anne Weiler
Follow:
Anne Weiler is CEO and co-founder of Wellpepper, a clinically-validated and award winning platform for patient engagement that enables health systems to track patient outcomes in real-time against their own protocols and personalize treatment plans for patients. Wellpepper patients are over 70% engaged. Prior to Wellpepper, Anne was Director of Product Management at Microsoft Corporation.

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

figure1
BusinessFinanceHealth ReformPolicy & LawPublic Health

Medicare Advantage: The Coming Tsunami

January 13, 2014

Avastin for Colon Cancer: A Conflicted View

January 19, 2012

Implantable Drug Delivery Systems: Delivering Medication One Dose at a Time

September 28, 2015
Barack_Obama.jpg
BusinessMedical EthicsSocial Media

Obama’s Precision Healthcare Initiative Ushers in a New Age of Medical Marketing

June 8, 2016
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?