decreased by 7.5% for total hips and by 19% for total knees. In addi-
tion, the average cost per case dropped by 9.9% for hips and by 5% for
knees.
Bundled payments encourage entrepreneurship and create con-
structive competition. We've seen firsthand how the model has pre-
pared our group to aggressively compete in the emerging healthcare
marketplace that rewards and incentivizes efforts to improve out-
comes while decreasing the cost of patient-centered care.
OSM
J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 8 1
Dr. Schutzer (sschutze@ stfranciscare.org) is the medical director and co-founder
of the Connecticut Joint Replacement Institute at Saint Francis Hospital in
Hartford, Conn., and president of the Connecticut Joint Replacement Surgeons.
