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Background: Providing care for patients undergoing hip and knee arthroplasty requires substantial effort beyond the actual replacement surgery to ensure a safe, clinical, and economically effective outcome. Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has stated that the procedural codes for total hip (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are potentially misvalued and has asked for a review by the Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC). The purpose of this study is to quantify one of the additional work efforts associated with telephone encounters during the perioperative episode of care., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all 47,841 telephone calls from patients to our office from 2015 to 2017 in a consecutive series of 3309 patients who underwent TKA and 3651 patients who underwent THA. We recorded reasons for communication, amount of communication, and the caller identity for both 30 days preoperatively and 90 days postoperatively. We then used the RUC Building Block Method to calculate the preservice and postservice work included in a review of the time and intensity of the codes for THA and TKA., Results: The average number of preoperative patient calls per patient was 2.31 for TKA and 2.44 for THA, and the average number of postoperative calls was 5.01 for TKA and 4.00 for THA. The most common reasons for patient calls were perioperative care instructions, medications, medical clearance, paperwork/insurance, and complications. Using the RUC-approved work relative value units (wRVUs) assigned to each telephone encounter, an additional 1.83 wRVUs for perioperative telephone encounters for TKA and 1.61 for THA should be assigned., Conclusions: Providing patients with appropriate support during the arthroplasty episode of care requires substantial telephonic support, which should be acknowledged. As the RUC considers reviewing the time and intensity spent on perioperative care for patients undergoing THA and TKA, they should consider appropriately documenting the amount of work required for telephone communication., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Rapid-pathway outpatient (OTJA) and one-night inpatient (ITJA) arthroplasty require close follow-up by the surgeon. We quantify and characterize the total perioperative touches required in the first 7 days, and compare OTJA and ITJA patients., Methods: We reviewed 103 consecutive primary total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients from April 2014 without exclusion; all patients were discharged either within 5 hours or the morning after surgery. All telephone and office visits during the first 7 days following surgery were studied. Specialized outpatient TJA education was included. We measured the frequency, duration, and subject matter of phone calls. Simple Poisson regression analysis and t-tests were used to determine significance., Results: None of the 103 rapid pathway patients were lost to follow-up. Average age was 61.2 years (range 26.9-83.0), with 49 females (47.6%), 78 total knee arthroplasties, average Charlson Comorbidity Index score of 2.1, and average body mass index of 29.5 kg/m 2 . There were 253 touches required, averaging 2.5/patient. One hundred sixty were outgoing phone calls by the surgical team and 93 were incoming calls from patients. The average duration of each call was 4.74 minutes (SD 3.7). The entire group required 19 hours and 35 minutes of telephone contact. After including specialized education time, this cohort required 83.1 hours of clinical time, or 48.4 minutes per patient., Conclusion: Postoperative care after rapid pathway TJA requires a significant burden of resources, shifted from the hospital to the surgeon. We found that both rapid pathway groups require similar work by the surgeon's team. This additional work should be considered by policymakers., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: With the recent implementation of a bundled payment model for total joint arthroplasty, healthcare providers are financially responsible for management of complications throughout the 90-day perioperative period. Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of a surveillance system that was implemented to enhance communication during this period., Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using a prospectively collected database of patients who underwent primary total joint arthroplasty from January 2015 to April 2016. Surveillance was performed using electronic messages and telephone calls. The use of this system in response to several clinical scenarios was measured by the total number of messages and calls exchanged., Results: Communication was greater among patients who experienced a complication (median 8), went to the emergency department (ED; median 9), and were readmitted to the hospital (median 8), relative to patients who had an uncomplicated course (median 5). Additionally, communication was greater among patients who presented to outside facilities for ED visits (median 11) and readmissions (median 9) relative to those who returned to the index hospital for ED visits (median 7) and readmissions (median 6). More distant patients had decreased follow-up attendance but did not have a compensatory increase in use of the surveillance system., Conclusion: Patients used the surveillance system to relay information about clinically significant events when such events arose. Additionally, patients who returned to outside facilities used the surveillance system to remain engaged with their original provider. However, more distant patients did not appear to use the surveillance system to compensate for decreased follow-up attendance., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Institutional pathways in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) have been shown to reduce costs and improve patient care, but questions remain regarding their efficacy in certain populations. We sought to evaluate the comprehensive effect of a rapid recovery perioperative TJA protocol in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) setting., Methods: In a VA hospital, a rapid recovery protocol was implemented for all patients undergoing primary total hip or knee arthroplasty. A retrospective chart review was performed comparing pre-protocol (n = 174) and protocol (n = 78) cohorts. Measured outcomes included length of stay (LOS), discharge destination, unplanned readmissions, overall complications, and total cost of healthcare during admission and at 30 and 90 days postoperatively., Results: After implementation of the protocol, the average LOS decreased from 3.2 to 1.7 days (P < .0001). In the protocol group, there was a 12.3% increase in patients discharging directly home (85.1% vs 97.4%, P = .005). There were lower unplanned readmissions (6.3% vs 3.8%, P = .56) and overall complications (7.5% vs 3.8%, P = .40), but these were not statistically significant. The summative cost of all perioperative healthcare was lower after implementation of the protocol during the inpatient stay ($19,015 vs $21,719, P = .002) and out to 30 days postoperatively ($21,083 vs $23,420, P = .03) and 90 days postoperatively ($24,189 vs $26,514, P = .07)., Conclusion: In the VA setting, implementation of a rapid recovery TJA protocol led to decreased LOS, decreased cost of perioperative healthcare, and an increase in patients discharging directly home without increased readmission or complication rates. Such protocols are essential as we transition into an era of value-based arthroplasty., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: We developed an orthopedic hospitalist fellowship program for our total joint replacement program at a large urban academic medical center. The goal of the program was to improve patient outcomes, quality, and healthcare value through collaborative perioperative care and improved care coordination. This study evaluates the implementation and impact of our modified Hospitalist-Orthopaedic Team Co-management model on quality and performance metrics., Methods: We reviewed our Quality Institute data using 3 databases for the 16 months before (PreOH) and 18 months after (PostOH) implementation. Procedural volume was identical during period 1 (1100 cases) vs period 2 (1119 cases). Metrics included mean LOS (length of stay), % patients discharged home, mean observed and expected LOS and LOS index, LOS variance, % ICU (intensive care unit) admissions, mean ICU days, % cases with complications, % mortality, 30-day readmission rate, and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores. Statistical analysis was performed using the software imbedded in the database software., Results: Statistically significant improvements occurred in multiple performance and quality metrics including mean hospital LOS for total knee replacement, percentage of total knee replacement patients discharged home, and percentage of patients discharged home for primary total hip arthroplasty, complication rate, and 30-day readmission rate. Reductions in % ICU admission and ICU LOS were seen but not statistically significant. HCAPHS scores improved in 6 of 8 categories, and was statistically significant in 3 of 8., Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that the modified Hospitalist-Orthopaedic Team Co-management model described above improves quality, cost effectiveness, and value for elective total joint replacement patients in comparison to the traditional consultation only model., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)