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Study: Trauma center profits prove variable for common fractures
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PHOENIX — Researchers found variable profitability for a medical center for 96% of patients admitted with traumatic fractures. The most profitable fracture diagnosis was a pelvic fracture, according to study results presented at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting, here.
“We found that orthopedic trauma care is profitable in the hospital in this state-regulated system. We found significant variation in profitability among common fractures,” Conor Kleweno, MD, said. “We identified main cost drivers as the length of stay and supplies.”
Kleweno and colleagues identified 1,020 patients admitted to a trauma center where the reimbursement system was state-regulated and the “burden of uncompensated care to the hospital is addressed and that cost-shifting from the uninsured to the insured patients is normalized across all payers,” as noted in the study abstract. Among the admitted patients, there were 277 hip fractures, 275 acetabular fractures, 255 femoral shaft fractures, 148 tibia shaft fractures and 65 pelvis fractures.
The researchers found a mean overall direct profit of $19,526 per patient, which they derived from subtracting the total inpatient cost from the mean revenue per admission that the hospital gained. Most of the cost was from length of stay (26%), operating room use at an additional 26% and variability of the cost for the orthopedic implants (17%), according to the abstract.
Reference:
Kleweno C. Paper #88. Presented at: Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting. Oct. 9-12, 2013; Phoenix.
Disclosure: Kleweno has no relevant financial disclosures.