February 8, 2017, Morristown, NJ – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has selected Atlantic Health System (AHS) to present a webinar on how it is using a risk prediction model to achieve better clinical outcomes for patients who underwent elective hip and knee replacement surgery.
Atlantic Health System’s data of patients who had their hips and knees replaced in 2012, 2013, 2014, and between April 1 and September 30, 2016 showed that patients were more than twice as likely to return to the hospital within 90 days after surgery if they were admitted to a rehabilitation or skilled nursing facility rather than being discharged to home. In an effort to decrease the likelihood that patients discharged to a post-acute care facility return to the hospital, Atlantic Health System implemented the Risk Assessment and Prediction Tool (RAPT), a pre-surgery assessment that helps determine whether a patient will be discharged home or to a post-acute care facility.
Based on the RAPT results, Atlantic Health System is able to better recognize higher-risk patients likely to be discharged to a post-acute care facility, and provide additional resources – including more frequent check-in calls with the patient and regular care coordination conversations with the discharge facility.
“We know that patients who undergo surgeries ultimately want to recover at home, and we also know that clinically, that is where they have the best outcomes,” said Steven Maser, MD, Medical Director of Orthopedic Surgery for Atlantic Health System. “Using the RAPT tool to identify patients who will benefit from additional support and resources has allowed Atlantic Health System to reduce length of stay, prevent some readmissions, and most importantly, get our patients back home faster.”
The webinar, Strategies for Utilizing Risk Stratification to Achieve Better Outcomes, – the third in CMS’s The Patient Journey Series – will feature Atlantic Health System’s Steven Maser, MD, Medical Director of Orthopedic Surgery, Jim Smith, Administrative Lead on CJR, Mina Le Fevre, System Central Navigator for CJR, and Lauren Johnson, coordinator, Atlantic Ambulance, on Thursday, February 9, 2017.
In November 2015, CMS enacted The Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model, designed to reduce cost and promote better patient outcomes though streamlined coordination of care for Medicare patients receiving hip and knee replacement surgery. Atlantic Health System has been participating in this bundling initiative since its inception in April, 2016.
About Atlantic Health System
Atlantic Health System, headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, is a leading non-profit health care delivery system in New Jersey. Our network includes Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ; Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ; Newton Medical Center in Newton, NJ; Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ; Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ; and Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ, as well as Atlantic Rehabilitation, and Atlantic Home Care and Hospice. It also includes its subsidiary, Atlantic Ambulance Corporation. Atlantic Health System comprises 1,747 licensed beds, more than 14,000 employees and more than 4,000 physicians. Atlantic Health System has a medical school affiliation with the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University; is part of Atlantic Accountable Care Organization, one of the largest ACOs in the nation, and is a member of AllSpire Health Partners.