Belgian hip implant market rises at 4.5% a year:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Some 16,000 Belgians had a hip implant in 1998 and the market has been growing at an average rate of 4.5% annually over the last 10 years, according to the Journal du Medecin. The average cost for an implant is BFr352,000 ($7,300), including hospital care and device costs, with patients contributing some 17% towards this. However, there are huge variations in aspects of care between different hospitals - from the implant, to the imaging and the costs of blood transfusions - which cannot be medically justified. In Belgium, cementless prostheses cost about twice the price of those requiring cement. Centres implanting more than 170 hips a year have a revision rate less than half that of centres where there are less than 120 implants a year.