The least most expensive country was Argentina, where hip replacements cost $3, 365 and knee replacements averaged $3, 192.
Argentina Lowest Cost Joint Replacements
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At the high end of the cost scale is the U.S. and Australia. It cost more to have a hip or knee replaced in the United States, in 2012, than it did in any other industrialized country in the world. The U.S. average for all hospital and physician costs was $40, 364 for a hip replacement and $25, 637 for a knee replacement. Costs for the United States are aggregates based on a database of over 100 million claims paid by multiple health plans, according to the International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP), which compiled the data.
The next most expensive country for both surgeries, after the U.S., was Australia, where the total cost averaged $27, 810 for hip replacement and $22, 421 for knee replacement.
The IFHP reports that it compiles data from over 80 companies in 25 countries. For the survey, participating member plans submitted costs for each country. Some came from the public sector, some from the private, and some from both.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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