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Surgical treatment of hip fracture produces societal savings
Surgical treatment of hip fractures reduced the length and intensity of care after injury and the amount of longer-term medical care and assistance needed by patients, resulting in overall societal savings, according to study results.
Through a Markov cohort analysis of patients 65 years and older, researchers estimated the effects of surgical treatment for displaced hip fractures and obtained assumptions from a systematic literature review, analysis of Medicare claims data and clinical experts. To assess the effect of uncertainty in model parameters on the estimates, the researchers conducted a series of sensitivity analyses. Total societal savings were estimated through a comparison of costs for medical care, home modification and long-term nursing home use between surgical and nonoperative treatment of hip fractures.
The researchers reported an estimated lifetime cost of hip fracture of $81,300, of which 44% of those costs were associated with nursing home facility expenses. When compared with nonsurgical treatment, the researchers estimated an average per-patient savings of $65,279 for surgery to correct a displaced intracapsular hip fracture and $67,964 to correct a displaced extracapsular hip fracture.
The lifetime total per-patient societal savings from surgical treatment of hip fractures was estimated at $160,000, and there was an annual total societal savings estimated at $16 billion for patients older than 65 years as a whole, according to the researchers.
“Not only is surgery extremely successful in returning hip fracture patients to active, independent living, but the procedure also provides a significant societal benefit and value,” study author John Tongue, MD, said in a press release about the study. “These are important findings as the nation ages, and as policy makers and payers increasingly focus on the rising costs of health care.”
Disclosure: Gu, Koenig and Mather received or will receive funding from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.