Background:

Complications following hip and knee arthroplasty can occur in any given patient. However, specific risk factors such as increased age, history of coexistent disease, and increased body mass index have been found to increase the risk of complications after such procedures. Complications often require prolonged hospital admission periods and added hospital resources which ultimately results in increased costs per hospital stay. However, if patients are pre-operatively risk stratified, and followed post-operatively for specific high risk medical issues, many complications may be avoided. By using a hospital standardised peri-operative risk stratification process, the cost per hospital stay for hip and knee arthroplasty may decrease.