Measurement of Value in Rotator Cuff Repair (RCR): Patient-Level Value-Analysis (PLVA) for the One-Year Episode-of-Care Measuring Value in RCR over One-Year

Abstract Background Rotator cuff repair (RCR) is one of the most common elective orthopedic procedures with predictable indications, technique, and outcomes. As a result, this surgery is an ideal choice for studying value. The purpose of this study was to utilize Patient-level value-analysis (PLVA) within the setting of RCR over the one-year episode-of-care. Methods Included patients (n=396) underwent RCR between 2009 and 2016 at a single outpatient orthopedic surgery center. The episode-of-care was defined as one-year following surgery. The Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC) index was collected at both the initial preoperative baseline and the one-year postoperative mark. The total cost-of-care was determined using time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC). Both patient (PLVA) and provider-level value-analysis (pLVA) were performed. Results The average TDABC cost-of-care was derived at $5413.78 ± $727.41 [$5341.92, $5485.64]. At the patient-level, arthroscopic isolated supraspinatus tears yielded the highest value coefficient, 0.82 (ANOVA F-Test, p=0.01). There was a poor correlation between the change in one-year WORC score and the TDABC cost-of-care (r2=0.03). Provider-level value demonstrated significant variation between the 8 evaluated providers (p Conclusion RCR is one of the most common orthopedic procedures, yet the correlations between cost-of-care and patient outcomes is unknown. PLVA quantifies the ratio of functional improvement to the TDABC estimated cost-of-care at the patient-level. This is the first study to apply patient-level value analysis over the first-year episode-of-care. With healthcare transitioning towards value-based delivery, PLVA offers a quantitative tool to measure the value of individual patient care delivery over the entire episode-of-care.