Hip/Knee Replacements Costs Expected To Skyrocket In Future Years, USA

The number of joint replacement procedures and their associated hospital charges are growing explosively in the U.S. and the numbers are projected to increase over the next decade, a recent study suggests. A researcher from Florida International University (FIU) analyzed the recent trend of hip/knee replacement loads followed by the projection of the costs associated to the surgery in the year 2020 in the U.S.


The national bill of hospital charges for primary hip/knee replacements were 22.9 billion in 2004 compared to 10.8 billion dollars in the year 2000. If current trends continue, in the year 2020, hospital charges will reach nearly 120 billion dollars for the 712,000 and 2 million primary hip and knee replacements, respectively.


"The number of joint replacement procedures is growing faster than ever since 1999," stated Dr. Sunny Kim, Assistant Professor at FIU. "The health care community should consider and prepare for this upcoming demand of surgical loads and its associated economical burden."


A major component of the economic burden associated with the treatment of arthritis relates to surgical joint replacements of the hips or knees. When non-surgical treatment modalities have proved unsuccessful, surgical treatment is then considered for pain reduction.


This study and others will be presented at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 12th Annual International Meeting in Arlington, Virginia and published in the journal Value in Health 10(3).


Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 3,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.


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ISPOR is a nonprofit, international organization that strives to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to ensure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly, and efficiently.



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