As we start 2018 we are proud of being ranked #1 for joint replacement in Washington State by CareChex Quality Rating System. They use a variety of quality metrics to achieve their rankings, including: quality, performance and safety analytics. As the first joint replacement center in the state, we continue to evolve our delivery of care to exceed patient’s expectations. Each year we look back at our results and analyze how we can improve our outcomes and patient experience.
2017 outcomes
We review our 90 day infection rate for hip and knee replacement, our 30 day re-admission rate after surgery, our average length of stay, and discharge destination. For hip replacement our infection rate was 0%, our 30 day re-admission rate was 0.79%, our average length of stay was 1.2 days and 97% of our patients were discharged to home. For knee replacement our infection rate was 0%, our 30 day re-admission rate was 2.63%, our average length of stay was 1.7 days and 96% of our patients were discharged to home. While our results compare very favorably to national norms, they are the result of attention to standardized pathways, focus on patient optimization and excellent care by the nurses and staff at the VMC Center for Joint Replacement. The orthopedic surgeons and PAs at Proliance Orthopedic Surgeons (POA) are the drivers of these outcomes. While our complication rates are very low, to any patient who has a complication the rate is 100%. Thus, it is important for caregivers and patients to work together to keep these risks as low as possible.
Future
2018 will see the ground breaking for a joint venture between POA and Valley Medical Center to build an outpatient surgery center for joint replacement and spine surgery. This will be a state of the art facility for the future of joint replacement and spine surgery. We look forward to helping shape the evolution of joint replacement. This began 18 years ago when we opened the joint replacement center at VMC. 15 years ago we evaluated a variety of computer assisted and patient specific guides for knee replacement and it continued 10 years ago when we embraced anterior hip replacement. We have expanded the use of anterior approach for many of our revision hip replacements. In the 2nd quarter of 2018, we will review our 2017 results and share them with you.
Dr. Barrett is an orthopedic surgeon who performs over 500 joint replacement surgeries annually. For more information about total hip and knee replacements, contact Proliance Orthopedic Associates at 425.656.5060.