A multifaceted intervention to improve the quality of care for patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty

Knee and hip arthroplasties vary in cost, quality and outcomes. We developed a Lean quality improvement intervention for knee and hip arthroplasty patients encompassing the recognition, readiness, restoration and recovery phases of care. The intervention included standardised, evidence-based pathways, shared decision making, patient and family member engagement, and transdisciplinary rounding, implemented successively through a series of rapid process improvement workshops. We evaluated the intervention through run charts and time series analysis for 2005–2014. Outcomes included length of stay (LOS), 30-day readmission, discharge disposition, postsurgical complications and patient satisfaction. Included were 4253 total joint arthroplasty procedures, 1659 hip and 2594 knee. LOS decreased from 3.2 to 2.4 days postintervention for both hip and knee patients (p<0.001). The 30-day hospital readmission rate for hip patients decreased from 3.1% (18/576) to 1.1% (5/446, p=0.032) with knee patients unchanged. Discharge to home (vs rehabilitation facility or skilled nursing facility) increased from 72% (415/576) to 91% (405/446) (p<0.001) for hip patients, and from 70% (599/860) to 87% (578/663) for knee patients (p<0.001). Our standardised multifaceted Lean quality improvement programme was associated with reduced LOS, decreased readmission rates and improved discharge disposition in total knee and hip arthroplasty patients.