The Joint Commission is offering a new Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement for Joint Commission-accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers.
Here are five things to know:
1. The advanced certification program addresses transitions of care for patients undergoing total hip and total knee replacement surgeries.
2. The onsite review and advanced certification requirements include procedures associated with the orthopedic consultation, preoperative, intraoperative and post-surgical orthopedic surgeon follow-up care.
3. The Joint Commission developed the program due to growth in the number of patients undergoing total hip or total knee replacement surgeries and the increased focus on clinical evidence based patient care as it relates to pain management, quality of life issues faced by patients in need of joint replacement, functional limitations in mobility and the return to normal daily activities.
4. An organization must have achieved Joint Commission Hospital, Critical Access Hospital or Ambulatory Care Accreditation to be eligible for the certification program, as well as meet the general eligibility requirements of Joint Commission Disease-Specific Certification.
5. The advanced certification focuses on:
- The continuum of care and all transitions that occur within each phase of care;
- Education of the total hip and total knee replacement patient in the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative phases;
- Shared decision-making that includes the patient throughout the continuum of care;
- Consistent communication and collaboration between all healthcare providers involved in the care of the patients throughout the continuum of care.