Experience with Designing and Implementing a Bundled Payment Program for Total Hip Replacement.

BACKGROUND: Bundled payments, also known as episode-based payments, are intended to contain health care costs and promote quality. In 2011 a bundled payment pilot program for total hip replacement was implemented by an integrated health care delivery system in conjunction with a commercial health plan subsidiary. In July 2015 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model to test bundled payment for hip and knee replacement. METHODS: Stakeholders were identified and a structure for program development and implementation was created. An Oversight Committee provided governance over a Clinical Model Subgroup and a Financial Model Subgroup. RESULTS: The pilot program included (1) a clinical model of care encompassing the period from the preoperative evaluation through the third postoperative visit, (2) a pricing model, (3) a program to share savings, and (4) a patient engagement and expectation strategy. Compared to 32 historical controls-patients treated before bundle implementation-45 post-bundle-implementation patients with total hip replacement had a similar length of hospital stay (3.0 versus 3.4 days, p=.24), higher rates of discharge to home or home with services than to a rehabilitation facility (87% versus 63%), similar adjusted median total payments ($22,272 versus $22,567, p=.43), and lower median posthospital payments ($704 versus $1,121, p=.002), and were more likely to receive guideline-consistent care (99% versus 95%, p=.05). DISCUSSION: The bundled payment pilot program was associated with similar total costs, decreased posthospital costs, fewer discharges to rehabilitation facilities, and improved quality. Successful implementation of the program hinged on buy-in from stakeholders and close collaboration between stakeholders and the clinical and financial teams.

Blood Management Strategies to Reduce Transfusions After Elective Lower-Extremity Joint Arthroplasty Surgeries: One Tertiary Care Hospital's Early Experience With an Alternative Payment Model-a Total Joint "Bundle".

Blood loss associated with lower-extremity total joint arthroplasty (TJA) often results in anemia and the need for red blood cell transfusions (RBCTs). This article reports on a quality improvement initiative aimed at improving blood management strategies in patients undergoing TJA. A multifaceted intervention (preoperative anemia assessment, use of tranexamic acid, discouragement of autologous preoperative blood collection, restrictive RBCT protocols) was implemented. The results were stratified into 3 intervention periods: 1, pre; 2, peri; and 3, post. Fractional logistic regression was used to describe differences between various intervention periods. During the study period, 2511 patients underwent TJA. Compared with the preintervention period, there was 81.8% decrease in total units of RBCT during the postintervention period. Using activity-based costing (~$1000/unit), the annualized saving in RBC expenditure was $480 000. A multidisciplinary approach can be successful and sustainable in reducing RBCT and its associated costs for patients undergoing TJA.

Development of electronic medical record charting for hospital-based transfusion and apheresis medicine services: Early adoption perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Electronic medical records (EMRs) provide universal access to health care information across multidisciplinary lines. In pathology departments, transfusion and apheresis medicine services (TAMS) involved in direct patient care activities produce data and documentation that typically do not enter the EMR. Taking advantage of our institution's initiative for implementation of a paperless medical record, our TAMS division set out to develop an electronic charting (e-charting) strategy within the EMR. METHODS: A focus group of our hospital's transfusion committee consisting of transfusion medicine specialists, pathologists, residents, nurses, hemapheresis specialists, and information technologists was constituted and charged with the project. The group met periodically to implement e-charting TAMS workflow and produced electronic documents within the EMR (Cerner Millenium) for various service line functions. RESULTS: The interdisciplinary working group developed and implemented electronic versions of various paper-based clinical documentation used by these services. All electronic notes collectively gather and reside within a unique Transfusion Medicine Folder tab in the EMR, available to staff with access to patient charts. E-charting eliminated illegible handwritten notes, resulted in more consistent clinical documentation among staff, and provided greater realered. However, minor updates and corrections to documents as well as select work re-designs were required for optimal use of e-charting-time review/access of hemotherapy practices. No major impediments to workflow or inefficiencies have been encount by these services. CONCLUSION: Documentation of pathology subspecialty activities such as TAMS can be successfully incorporated into the EMR. E-charting by staff enhances communication and helps promote standardized documentation of patient care within and across service lines. Well-constructed electronic documents in the EMR may also enhance data mining, quality improvement, and biovigilance monitoring activities.

Reducing medical errors through barcoding at the point of care.

Medical errors are a major concern in health care today. Errors in point-of-care testing (POCT) are particularly problematic because the test is conducted by clinical operators at the site of patient care and immediate medical action is taken on the results prior to review by the laboratory. The Performance Improvement Program at Baystate Health System, Springfield, Massachusetts, noted a number of identification errors occurring with glucose and blood gas POCT devices. Incorrect patient account numbers that were attached to POCT results prevented the results from being transmitted to the patient's medical record and appropriately billed. In the worst case, they could lead to results being transferred to the wrong patient's chart and inappropriate medical treatment. Our first action was to lock-out operators who repeatedly made identification errors (3-Strike Rule), requiring operators to be counseled and retrained after their third error. The 3-Strike Rule significantly decreased our glucose meter errors (p = 0.014) but did not have an impact on the rate of our blood gas errors (p = 0.378). Neither device approached our ultimate goal of zero tolerance. A Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) was conducted to determine the various processes that could lead to an identification error. A primary source of system failure was the manual entry of 14 digits for each test, five numbers for operator and nine numbers for patient account identification. Patient barcoding was implemented to automate the data entry process, and after an initial familiarization period, resulted in significant improvements in error rates for both the glucose (p = 0.0007) and blood gas devices (p = 0.048). Despite the improvements, error rates with barcoding still did not achieve zero errors. Operators continued to utilize manual data entry when the barcode scan was unsuccessful or unavailable, and some patients were found to have incorrect patient account numbers due to hospital transfer, multiple wristbands on a single patient, and selection of expired account numbers from previous hospitalizations when printing the barcoded wristbands. Barcoding can thus improve the incidence of identification errors, but hospitals need to take additional steps to ensure successful barcode scanning and to verify that patient wristbands contain correct information. Implementation of patient barcoding was successful in significantly reducing identification errors with POCT, improving patient care, and enhancing interdisciplinary communication.