Zimmer Recognized for Health Economics Data Presentation

A presentation on the costs of total joint replacement in the United States received top honors at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in New Orleans, La.

The company’s presentation, “Economic Cost of Illness Model for Primary TKA and THA Procedures in the United States,”analyzed cost increases associated with total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Between 2003 and 2006, direct orthopedic costs jumped 20 percent to $5.56 billion for THA and 31 percent to $12.3 billion for TKA, according to data supplied by Zimmer. Changes in volume during that time for THA and TKA were 12 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

Data used for the analysis were taken from Thomson Reuters MarketScan databases. Patients who underwent a total joint arthroplasty procedure between Jan. 1, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2006, were included in the analysis.

“We see a demostrated increase in demand for total hip and total knee arthroplasty procedures, and this is expected to continue,” said Cheryl R. Blanchard, Ph.D., senior vice president and chief scientific officer at Zimmer.

Zimmer’s study evaluated 29,225 patients with primary THA and 64,492 patients with primary TKA. Primary THA patients consumed a mean of $80,484 in total economic costs during the study period, of which $35,168 or 43.7 percent, was orthopedic-related. Primary TKA patients consumed a mean of $87,172 in total economic costs during the same time period, of which $37,072 or 42.5 percent, was orthopedic-related.

The presentation was selected as Best inCategory by the AAOS committee for Practice Management and Rehabilitation.

Zimmer representatives also presented “Trends in Commercial Insurance Payments to Hospitals and Physicians for TKA and THA Procedures.” That analysis provided tracked the divergence in reimbursement rates over the past decade.

Both presentations were led by Ryan M. Graver, director, global market access and health economics at Zimmer.