The Cost-Effectiveness of Early High-Acuity Postoperative Care for Medium-Risk Surgical Patients

• Affiliations

  • From the Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.

  • Discipline of Acute Care Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.

A recent study assessed the cost-effectiveness of early high-acuity postoperative care for medium-risk surgical patients using the Advanced Recovery Room Care (ARRC) model. The analysis, based on data from a single-center prospective cohort study, employed a Markov model to simulate patient transitions between care settings.

Findings indicated that ARRC provided an additional 4.3 days at home within the first 90 days post-surgery and reduced overall hospital costs by $1,081 per patient. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed a 99.3% probability of increased days at home and a 77.4% probability that ARRC was dominant from the hospital's perspective, offering improved outcomes at lower costs compared to standard ward care.

Leaman EE, Ludbrook GL. The Cost-Effectiveness of Early High-Acuity Postoperative Care for Medium-Risk Surgical Patients. Anesth Analg. 2024 Aug 1;139(2):323-331. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000006743. Epub 2023 Nov 27. PMID: 38009844.