Generic orthopaedic trauma implants: implementation, outcomes, and cost savings

Background: As healthcare costs continue to rise, there has been increasing emphasis placed on providing value-based care. In orthopaedics, one way to influence cost is through the use of generic implants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cost-savings and surgical outcomes with the implementation of generic orthopaedic trauma implant use. Methods: This was a retrospective case series of 154 primary orthopaedic trauma patients from April – December 2022 within a level II trauma center. Patients were included if treated solely with generic implants. Exclusion criteria consisted of revision procedures for any reason, and the use of conventional name brand implants. Eleven different primary orthopaedic trauma procedures in which generic implants were evaluated. Main outcome measurements included operative time, perioperative complications, reoperation rates, patient mortality, implant cost, cost-savings. Results: Cost-savings per procedure with the use of generic implants in eleven different primary orthopaedic trauma procedures ranged from 16% to 73%. The average cost-savings was 48.8% among the 11 procedures evaluated, with a yearly cost-savings of 56.0% when case volume is considered. Maintaining the 2021 case volume for one surgeon constant, an overall savings of $256,794 could be generated. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that generic implants can provide an opportunity for relatively good patient outcomes with minimal overall risk. Generic implants are a valid alternative to decrease costs while maintaining acceptable patient outcomes. Future studies should seek to provide patient-reported outcome measures for generic implants and compare them to conventional implant use.