S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 0 5
T
he list
price for
a knee
replace-
ment
back in 2016 was
around $50,000, but
administrators at
Gundersen Health
System's hospital in La
Crosse, Wis., couldn't
tell you what it cost
them to perform the
surgery. Not even an
estimate. The actual
cost astounded them: $10,550, including the surgeon's and anesthesiolo-
gist's fees, according to an efficiency expert, who for 18 months record-
ed every minute of every activity and took note of every implant, supply
and medication, according to an account in last month's Wall Street
Journal. In addition to discovering that they were marking up knee
replacements nearly 500%, Gundersen was also able to pinpoint waste
and cut inefficiencies, eventually saving 18% on the cost of joint
replacement surgeries.
We asked Lisa J. Wied, MBA, vice president of clinical operations at
the Gundersen Health System, to share some of her cost-savings ideas
with our readers. Nothing exotic or earth-shattering, just the bread-
and-butter basics of surgical economics.
Expert Tips for Total Joint Efficiency
Build your program on these pillars of success.
Jeannette Sabatini and Mike Morsch | Associate Editors
• THE GREAT UNKNOWN Do you know how much it costs your facility to perform
a total joint replacement?
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
