As the transition to value-based care continues to unfold, Johnson & Johnson executives offer orthopedic surgeons tips on how to improve patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes.
Question: What strategies and steps can orthopedic surgeons and health systems take to improve patient satisfaction and outcomes?
Thom Clark, associate vice president, U.S. CareAdvantage Capabilities at Johnson & Johnson Medical Companies: Communication and proper expectation setting are two significant areas for improvement. Engaging patients with the right materials and communications leading up to their procedure and
staying highly engaged postoperatively are key focus areas. Access to someone at the practice-or service-line level who can answer questions quickly and effectively gives patients peace of mind.
Q: How does the Health Partner solution help ensure patients are receiving quality care?
Johnson & Johnson: One of the key differentiators of Health Partner is the artificial intelligence or machine learning component that actually gets ‘smarter’ the more patient data that is entered. This capability will begin to help clinicians predict how patients will respond to treatment and ultimately what type of
intervention, at what time and in what setting of care, will produce the highest quality outcome at the more reasonable cost.
Q: What are evidence-based behavior change techniques and how does Health Partner integrate them into its platform?
J&J: By behavior change technique, we are referring to the “active ingredients” imbedded within an intervention. These techniques are intentionally designed and strategically placed to help drive a specific behavior.
Q: How will evidence-based solutions continue to change of the orthopedic industry? Do you foresee digital communication playing a larger role in the future?
J&J: Absolutely. The ability to leverage technology to reach more patients and engage them in new and innovative ways will far outpace the impact of new products and more traditional approaches. Our evolving Connected Health portfolio strategy is designed to capture many of the most promising digital
technologies and marry them to the broad and diverse clinical and consumer experience of Johnson & Johnson.
Q: How has the personalized style of care affected the orthopedic surgery industry? What challenges will orthopedic surgeons have to overcome?
TC: The concept of personalized or ‘concierge’ medicine continues to evolve. Health Partner is harnessing the power of predictive analytics, machine learning and ‘smart’ app technology to personalize the patient experience. Beyond reminding a patient and collecting data, this new technology promises to greatly
impact how physicians interact with patients and hospital systems in the years to come. Some challenges include evolving payment dynamics, evolving health policy and movement in the site of care to maximize cost-effective care delivery.
“As the industry moves to shorter lengths of stay, previously 3-5 days to now 2 nights, 1 night, or even just hours in an outpatient setting, the need to educate and engage patients has risen dramatically. Personalized content such as Health Partner encourages patients to align their personal purpose with their daily
behaviors to emerge from joint surgery stronger, healthier and ready for the next chapter of their life. Survey results from those utilizing content in Health Partner demonstrated that patients went from fearing surgery to being more confident in their choice of surgery, felt they recovered more quickly, and nearly 9 out of
10 would recommend the program to family and friends, the proxy for measuring patient satisfaction," added Scott Zellner, senior director, U.S. Joint Reconstruction and Outpatient Marketing for DePuy Synthes part of Johnson & Johnson.