Rapid Recovery at the Bone and Joint Center

Employing patient shadowing as a process improvement tool has made the Magee Bone and Joint Center (BJC) a national leader in clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction.

It has also inspired process improvement efforts in other total joint Centers of Excellence in the United States and abroad. Patient shadowing is a quick, easy, and thorough way to assess how the patient and their family experience the entire cycle of care. After shadowing, any team has a comprehensive view of the care delivery pathway and a blueprint for how to improve that delivery to make it more efficient, cost-effective, reliable, and easy for the stakeholders involved.

As the Bone and Joint Center’s Rapid Recovery Program expanded to include both Total Hip Replacement and Total Knee Replacement patients this year, the BJC continued to rely on lessons learned from shadowing and other person-centered design strategies to make changes and improvements that better serve patients and families. Conducting this on-the-ground research coupled with asking “What Matters to You?”, the surgical experience at the Bone and Joint Center has smoothed out barriers or pain points for patients moving through the process.

The goShadow team continues to have its fingers on the pulse of what is happening at the Bone and Joint Center. It regularly surveys new patients about their experiences and tabulates results for fast turnarounds. In the last year, both Total Knee Replacement (TKR) and Total Hip Replacement (THR) patients have begun to participate in the Rapid Recovery protocol, allowing them to have surgery in the morning and leave the hospital the same afternoon. Because of the foundation of timed, efficient, streamlined processes at the Bone and Joint Center, adapting to even faster turnaround times has been able to occur with minimal issues.

Both within and outside of the hospital, patients at the Bone and Joint Center are prepared to be part of a well-oiled machine. The education process, discharge instructions, and other critical pieces of the puzzle are readily adapted and swiftly rolled out so that patients are supported in their journey, each step of the way.

Learn More About Being a Patient at the Bone and Joint Center