Research

Healthcare Policy in Orthopaedics

Advancing Equity, Access, and Value in Musculoskeletal Care

Healthcare policy plays a critical role in shaping how patients access orthopaedic surgery and how care is delivered across different systems.
Dr. Arshi’s research in this area examines the intersection of policy, economics, and clinical outcomes in orthopaedic surgery—particularly total joint arthroplasty.
His work evaluates trends in healthcare utilization, demographic disparities, financial models, and hospital operations to inform policy that promotes equitable, efficient, and high-value care.

Research Focus and Key Themes

• Access and equity: Studying demographic and socioeconomic trends in patients undergoing joint replacement to identify disparities in care.
• Hospital operations and efficiency: Investigating the causes of surgical cancellations, loss to follow-up, and logistical barriers within hospital systems.
• Economic and reimbursement trends: Analyzing the evolving relationship between surgeons, hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers in the value-based era.
• Health policy and decision modeling: Using data-driven analyses to guide policy decisions on cost-effectiveness, reimbursement structures, and system performance.
• Sustainability of orthopaedic care: Exploring how financial and operational shifts affect the long-term delivery of musculoskeletal services.

Representative Publications

1. Ruff G, Sarfraz A, Lawrence KW, Arshi A, Rozell JC, Schwarzkopf R.
   Patient characteristics associated with loss to follow-up after total joint arthroplasty.
   J Arthroplasty. 2025. [E-pub ahead of print]. PMID: 40334949
2. Sandoval CG, Katzman JL, Connolly P, Grossman EL, Arshi A, Schwarzkopf R.
   Why do total joint arthroplasties get canceled on the day of surgery?
   J Arthroplasty. 2025; 40(9): 2291–2297. PMID: 40122218
3. Thomas J, Ashkenazi I, Katzman JL, Arshi A, Lajam CM, Schwarzkopf R.
   Is it getting more expensive to treat patients with high comorbidity burden? Financial trends in total knee arthroplasty from 2013 to 2021.
   J Arthroplasty. 2024; 39(9S2): S88–S94. PMID: 38677344
4. Ashkenazi I, Lawrence KW, Kaplan M, Arshi A, Rozell JC, Schwarzkopf R, Lajam CM.
   Demographic and socioeconomic trends of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty from 2013 to 2022 – an analysis from an urban orthopaedic hospital.
   J Arthroplasty. 2024; 39(9): 2158–2165. PMID: 38614359
5. Arshi A, Wellens B, Krueger CA.
   The changing economic value and leverage of arthroplasty surgeons: how the shift in arthroplasty surgery location impacts the relationship of private surgeons, hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers.
   J Arthroplasty. 2022; 37(8): 1455–1458. PMID: 34942346
6. Arshi A, Shieh A, Adams JS, Bernthal NM, Zeegen EN, Sassoon AA.
   Preoperative vitamin D repletion in total knee arthroplasty: a cost-effectiveness model.
   J Arthroplasty. 2020; 35(5): 1379–1383. PMID: 31983566
7. Arshi A, Barad JH, Patel RK, Allis JB, SooHoo NF, Johnson EE.
   The Crush Index: orthopaedic trauma as an economic indicator.
   Orthopedics. 2017; 40(4): 248–255. PMID: 28295127
8. Arshi A, Kabir N, Cohen JR, Lord EL, Wang JC, McAllister DR, Petrigliano FA.
   Utilization and costs of postoperative physical therapy following rotator cuff repair: a comparison of privately insured and Medicare patients.
   Arthroscopy. 2015; 31(12): 2392–2399. PMID: 26231991

Translational Impact

Dr. Arshi’s research in healthcare policy helps bridge the gap between clinical performance and health system sustainability.
By analyzing national trends, reimbursement structures, and patient demographics, his work provides actionable insights to policymakers and healthcare leaders.
These findings support equitable access to orthopaedic care and the development of cost-effective, high-quality surgical delivery models for future generations of patients.

Full Publication List

For a complete and up-to-date list of Dr. Arshi’s publications, please visit his PubMed profile here.

Explore More Research

Dr. Arshi’s work on return to sport is just one aspect of his broader research portfolio in hip and knee replacement surgery.
Explore all research focus areas