The Joint Center: 2015 Outcomes

The Joint Center: 2015 Outcomes

William P. Barrett, MD

Since its inception in 2000, The Joint Center at Valley Medical Center has tracked outcomes with regard to infection rate, length of stay, and 30-day readmission.  Now that this data is required by Medicare and reimbursement to hospitals will be affected by this data, it becomes more important to pay attention to the outcomes at various facilities.  It is difficult to find outcomes data readily available from many hospitals. Several large joint replacement centers do publish their data annually, and we will use them for comparison.

Valley Medical Center:
-Total Hip Replacement:  The average length of stay for our primary hip replacement patients was 1.4 days. The benchmark data used nationally had an average of 2.2 days.  Our infection rate for hip replacement was 0.4%. Our readmission rate within 30 days was 2%.
-Total Knee Replacement:  Our average length of stay was 2.2 days.  The benchmark data nationally was 2.3 days. Our infection rate was 0.5%. Our 30-day readmission rate was 2.2%.
-Total Shoulder Replacement:  Our average length of stay was 1.3 days. Our infection rate was 0% and our readmission rate within 30 days was 1.2%.

Comparison Data:
-Hospital For Special Surgery In New York:  The average length of stay for hip replacements was 2.8 days with a 30-day readmission rate of 3.8% for both hips and knees. Their total knee replacement length of stay was 3.7 days.
-Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio:  For hip replacement, they had a average length of stay of 2.7 days, infection rate of 1%, a 30-day readmission rate of 3%, and 74% of their patients were discharged home.  For knee replacement, average length of stay was 2.9 days, infection rate was 1%, and their 30-day readmission rate was 3.4%.

Based on national benchmark data and outcomes from large joint replacement centers, we have done very well at Valley Medical Center.  This is due, in part, to the fact that we have, for quite some time, had standardized pathways for hip, knee, and shoulder replacement.  We have 1 group of orthopedic surgeons performing all of the joint replacement procedures, that being Proliance Orthopedic Associates. The five surgeons performing hip and knee replacement performed more than 1200 surgeries each year. The relatively high volume per surgeon and specialized joint replacement center with dedicated nurses has led to excellent outcomes with shortened length of stays, low complication rates, and 92% of our patients are discharged home from the hospital with only a small percent requiring a rehab facility after discharge.

Going forward, we will continue to provide excellent care for joint replacement patients while we expand our horizon to short stay and outpatient joint replacement procedures in collaboration between Proliance Orthopedic Associates and Valley Medical Center.