Daniel B. Murrey, MD, MPP
At OrthoCarolina, a multi-site independent orthopedic physician group in the Charlotte area, we lowered cost by 10-30% and dramatically improved outcomes for hip and knee replacement surgery. We did this by creating a standardized coordinated care program and pairing it with commercial bundled payment contracts in which the surgeons took primary financial risk.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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Bundled payments can improve clinical outcomes, reduce variation in care pathways, and substantially lower the cost of joint replacement surgery.
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Consensus-driven pathways, patient and family empowerment, and care navigation are key elements of success.
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Private practice physicians can effectively manage performance-based episode-of-care risk.
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It is possible to scale such a program and reproduce similar results at multiple sites.
