Worsening Arthroplasty Utilization With Widening Racial Variance During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Elective arthroplasty surgery in the United States came to a near-complete halt in the spring of 2019 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Racial disparity has been a long-term concern in healthcare with increased focus during the pandemic. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 and race on arthroplasty utilization trends during the pandemic.

Methods

We used 2019 and 2020 Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service fee-for-service claims data to compare arthroplasty volumes prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We compared overall arthroplasty utilization rates between 2019 and 2020 and then sought to determine the effect of race and COVID-19, both independently and combined.

Results

There was a decrease in primary total knee

SUBMITTER: Stronach BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8904006 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature