Several studies have indicated that high-volume surgeons and hospitals deliver higher value care. However, no evidence-based volume thresholds currently exist in total hip arthroplasty (THA). The primary objective of this study was to establish meaningful thresholds taking patient outcomes into consideration for surgeons and hospitals performing THA. A secondary objective was to examine the market share of THAs for each surgeon and hospital strata.
Using 136,501 patients undergoing hip arthroplasty, we used stratum-specific likelihood ratio (SSLR) analysis of a receiver-operating characteristic curve to generate volume thresholds predictive of increased length of stay (LOS) for surgeons and hospitals. Additionally, we examined the relative proportion of annual THA cases performed by each surgeon and hospital strata established.
SSLR analysis of LOS by annual surgeon THA volume produced 3 strata: 0-69 (low), 70-121 (medium), and 121 or more (high). Analysis by annual hospital THA volume produced strata at: 0-120 (low), 121-357 (medium), and 358 or more (high). LOS decreased significantly (P < .05) in progressively higher volume categories. High-volume hospitals performed the majority of cases, whereas low-volume surgeons performed the majority of THAs.
Our study validates economies of scale in THA by demonstrating a direct relationship between volume and value for THA through risk-based volume stratification of surgeons and hospitals using SSLR analysis of receiver-operating characteristic curves to identify low-, medium-, and high-volume surgeons and hospitals. While the majority of primary THAs are performed at high-volume centers, low-volume surgeons are performing the majority of these cases, which may offer room for improvement in delivering value-based care.