Zip Codes May Not Be an Adequate Method to Risk Adjust for Socioeconomic Status Following Total Joint Arthroplasty at the Individual Surgeon Level.

Background: Increasing consumerism in healthcare has included a push toward the ranking of individual surgeons. These rankings rely on the adjustment of patient outcomes based on individual patient risk. Socioeconomic status (SES) has been identified as an important variable impacting patient outcomes following total joint arthroplasty, and patient zip code has been proposed as a proxy.