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Shadowing and Centers of Excellence Designation
Congratulations to our partners, the Bone and Joint Center of UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, UPMC Shadyside Hospital, UPMC East, and UPMC Passavant Hospital on being designated as UPMC Health Plan Hip and Knee Joint Replacement Surgery Centers of Excellence. This program recognizes “surgical facilities and orthopedic surgeons that demonstrate high-quality outcomes, low complication rates, and the best patient experience for UPMC Health Plan members in need of joint replacement surgery."
In conjunction with internal Centers of Excellence teams, the goShadow team provided data collection and technical support to map the current state of total joint replacement experiences. By observing both patient and staff perspectives and workflows, actionable insights into improving outcomes, experiences, efficiency, and communication for both patients and caregivers were identified in each segment of care--from the outpatient office through the day of surgery.
By creating teams of cross-functional stakeholders from each of the segments in a patient’s journey--outpatient office, pre-surgical testing center, day of surgery, inpatient stay, and follow up care-- each of the UPMC Centers of Excellence worked to build an orthopaedic hospital within a hospital. Initiatives included dedicated preoperative nursing and OR staff, as well as a comprehensive pre-surgical testing center, were put in place as a result of cooperative work between the orthopaedic Center of Excellence teams, shadowers, and support staff.
Additional requirements for becoming a UPMC Health Plan Hip and Knee Joint Replacement Center of Excellence included:
- Having an active team of surgeons who perform at least 300 hip/or knee joint replacement surgeries a year
- Shared decision making with patients before and after surgery
- Evidenced-based policies that provide patient and family-centered care
- Pre-surgical identification and optimization of reversible conditions and chronic conditions prior to surgery including:
- Smoking cessation
- High blood pressure
- BMI
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Participation in continuous cycles of improvement
The implementation of these requirements resulted in better outcomes, increased patient throughput, and greater patient and family satisfaction. We are thrilled to be a part of the hard work done in assisting these outstanding facilities and teams. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Centers of Excellence care teams and patients.
Hip and knee joint replacement surgery is one of the most frequently performed orthopedic surgeries in the United States. With that in mind, UPMC Health Plan has established a Center of Excellence program for elective hip and knee joint replacement surgery to promote high-quality outcomes for our members.
The UPMC Health Plan Hip and Knee Joint Replacement Surgery Center of Excellence program recognizes surgical facilities and orthopedic surgeons that demonstrate high-quality outcomes, low complication rates, and best patient experience for Health Plan members in need of joint replacement surgery. Orthopedic surgeons and hospitals in this program have established patient-centric, evidence-based care pathways as well as an outcomes-based quality improvement program. Both hospitals and orthopedic surgeons must demonstrate a high-performance level that results in an optimal patient experience throughout the entire care process—from presurgical consultation to postsurgical recovery and return to a functional lifestyle.
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