National health care statistics help doctors, hospitals, and policy makers plan patient care and make decisions about medical treatment. A national organization called Healthcare Care and Utilization Project (HCUPnet) collects and reports the data. Here's what they recently reported about hip fractures.

About 300,000 Americans are hospitalized every year with hip fractures. Most are admitted through the emergency room. About one-third have a partial or total hip replacement. The rest have surgery to repair the fracture. Three-fourths are women over the age of 65.

Hospital stay and cost is about the same for hip fracture repair versus replacement. The average adult stays six and a half days at a cost of $30,000 to $35,000. Most older adults with hip fracture go to a nursing home or rehab facility after they leave the hospital.

Mortality (death rate) from hip fracture is about two percent. This compares to three percent for hip replacement patients who die while in the hospital. Death rate for older adults who die while getting other kinds of treatment is about the same (two percent).

Data from HCUPnet shows us that billions of dollars are spent each year in the U.S. for hip fracture care. This kind of information helps bring to light the need to prevent hip fractures and reduce overall medical costs.

Reference:

Matt Hasson. One-third of Hip Fracture Patients Undergo Hip Replacement Surgery. In Orthopedics Today. March 2006. Vol. 26. No. 3. Pp. 115, 120.'