Since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services added total knee replacements and total hip arthroplasties to covered outpatient surgeries, the volume of these orthopedic procedures performed in surgery centers has seen significant growth and is expected to continue to rise.
Strengthen or prepare for your Ambulatory Surgery Center’s (ASC’s) total joint replacements program with these steps:
Assemble a multidisciplinary team: Select key stakeholders, such as surgeons, anesthetists, perioperative and postoperative nurses, materials managers, business office managers and sterile processing employees. You might also talk to peers at other ASCs to gather their recommendations.
Analyze your resources: What new supplies will be needed once total joint surgeries are made a priority? As you shift volume away from other surgeries, which products are no longer necessary? Will additional instrumentation from total joint surgeries strain your sterile processing department? How will sterilization capacities impact the volume of procedures you can perform?
Establish new protocols with key stakeholders: What pre-op and post-op action items are needed for new surgeries? Are nurses informed enough to educate patients and their families on these protocols? How is such information being shared within your facility?
Learn more on how Cardinal Health can support your ASC’s orthopedics program here.