Implant standardization for total hip arthroplasty. An implant selection and a cost reduction program

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been targeted by the United States federal government for cost control because of its high cost and rising incidence in the aging population. The hospital cost for THA during the 1980s was controlled by utilization review and a reduction in the volume of services delivered for each THA. The single largest increase in the cost of THA during the 1980s was the cost of hip implants. The Lahey Clinic Hip Implant Standardization Program was developed to provide objective guidelines for hip implant selection. These guidelines are based on the demands a patients is expected to place on his or her hip prosthesis. Because not every patient requires an expensive high-demand hip prosthesis, the standardization program also has the potential to reduce the hospital cost for hip implants without compromising patient care. Patients are assigned to four demand categories based on five objective criteria: age, weight, expected activity, general health, and bone stock. Selection of the prosthesis in each of the four demand categories is intended to match the implant's capacity with expected patient demand. The standardization program was retrospectively applied to 103 THAs performed during 1991. Analysis of variance demonstrated that patient variables and demand categories were statistically significant groupings. The cost of hip implants would have been reduced by 25.7% with the Lahey Clinic Hip Implant Standardization Program. A prospective outcome study is required to determine the long-term validity of this standardization program.