Hip fractures are a major cause of death and disability among older people worldwide, with 70,000 cases every year in the UK, which cost the NHS around £2 billion.
In 2010, a Best Practice Tariff (BPT) was launched across England, which promised extra payments to hospitals for each hip fracture patient whose care satisfied six clinical standards, such as surgery within 36 hours.
Researchers from the University of Oxford and Yale University compared the data from England with that in Scotland, which does not provide BPT payments to hospitals. They found that the BPT scheme saved up to 7,600 lives in England between 2010 and 2016.
David Metcalfe of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, said: ‘This is the first study to show that the Best Practice Tariff drove changes in practice that reduced mortality for older adults with a hip fracture in England.
Read more at: University of Oxford
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