Variations in Spinal Component Costs Highlighted in New Study

Researchers obtained and compared the hospital purchasing records from 45 academic medical centers on the unit costs and volume of spinal products in a study presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

The products included pedicle screws (PS), anterior cervical plates (ACP) and posterior interbody cages, which were purchased from a total of seven vendors.

• PS had a mean cost of $878, with a range of $400 to $1,843 per patient;
• ACP had a mean cost of $1,068, with a range of $540 to $2,388; and,
• cages, $2,975, with a range of $938 to $7,200