Medicare financial incentives are driving more and more inpatient orthopedic surgeries to be performed at rural hospitals (often called critical-access hospitals). But these institutions generally do not do this sort of work as often or as well as general hospitals, which are mostly in urban and suburban areas. This imperils the health of some patients.
In an investigative piece, The Wall Street Journal reported that “Patients getting the five most common major orthopedic procedures at critical-access hospitals, including joint replacements, were about 34% more likely to die within 30 days than those getting the same services at typical general hospitals during the period from 2010 through 2013, according to the {Medicare} billing data.”
