Cost savings and quality improvement increased from the first year of implementation to the second in the Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model of care when used for knee or hip replacement patients at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2015 annual meeting. Evidence of long-term sustainability of the PSH model is significant for groups such as UC Irvine which anticipate extending the PSH to other specialty areas.
“This study shows us that the PSH is a viable and beneficial model of care for our patients,” says Leslie Garson, MD, co-author of the study and associate clinical professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, UC Irvine. “Our study highlights that for joint replacement patients it is highly successful and now we can look to use it in other areas.”
In the study, researchers reviewed data from 328 patients who had elective knee or hip replacement surgery in UC Irvine’s PSH program between Oct. 1, 2012 and Sept. 30, 2014. Factors reviewed for improvement included length of stay (LOS), discharge location, 30-day readmission rate and postoperative pain scores.
Over the two-year period, LOS was significantly lower in the second year of the PSH. By procedure, LOS was much lower for hip patients in the second year, decreasing by 28 percent, while the median LOS didn’t differ for knee surgery patients between the two years. Researchers also found that for total hip replacement patients, the percentage of patients going home, rather than to a skilled nursing facility, nearly doubled (from 17.6 percent to 32.9 percent) in the second year compared to the first year. Readmission rates and postoperative pain scores did not change significantly between the first and second year of the PSH.
The PSH is an innovative patient-centered, physician-led, multidisciplinary team-based model of coordinated care. In the PSH, a patient’s entire surgical experience – preoperative, intraoperative and post-discharge – is fully coordinated and treated as a continuum of care. The PSH model emphasizes the cost-efficient use of resources as well as lead physician, multi-specialty team and patient shared decision-making.
“In today’s healthcare environment, it’s especially satisfying to be part of a model of care that is achieving the triple aim of better health, better healthcare and lower costs,” says Garson.
Source: American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)
Catching Up With Vangie Dennis, AORN 2022-2023 President at AORN 2024
March 26th 2024Infection Control Today (ICT) had the privilege of catching up with Vangie Dennis, MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO, at the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses' (AORN’s) International Surgical Conference & Expo 2024. As the former president of AORN and an esteemed figure in perioperative services, Vangie Dennis shared insights into her recent endeavors and the exciting new chapter she's embarked upon.
Weekly Rounds: Four Years of COVID-19, AORN 2024 Conference Coverage, and More
March 18th 2024Here are 5 highlights from Infection Control Today®'s (ICT®’s) wide-ranging coverage of the infection prevention and control world. Everything from interviews with known opinion leaders to the news that infection preventionists and other health care professionals can use on their jobs.
Empowering Safety: A Massachusetts General Hospital Team Is Pushing for Smoke-Free ORs
March 13th 2024At the AORN’s International Surgical Conference & Expo 2024, a team from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) showcased their transformative project, "Becoming Smoke-Free in the OR." This initiative underscored the critical need for smoke evacuation in surgical settings.
Hand Hygiene Practices in the Operating Room: A Collaborative Endeavor
March 13th 2024As explained on a poster at AORN 2024, perioperative nurses and infection preventionists unite in a proactive campaign to elevate hand hygiene within the operating room, resulting in improved adherence, decreased infections, and fortified patient outcomes.