Smith+Nephew's new ARIA Digital Care Management Solution is designed to help clinical teams streamline patient selection and care coordination, which are key components of any successful outpatient total hip and knee program.
During an Oct. 16 workshop at Becker's ASC Virtual Event Part II: The Business and Operations of ASCs, two physician leaders discussed why they believe in the technology:
● Ritesh Shah, MD, Chief of orthopedic surgery at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago
● Nishant Shah, MD, Partner with Midwest Anesthesia Partners in the Chicago metropolitan area
While ARIA is equipped with patient engagement tools, outcome measures reporting and more, Drs. Ritesh Shah and Nishant Shah focused on the solution's SiteSelect patient selection algorithm and patient care clinical pathways.
Here are two excerpts from that conversation, lightly edited for clarity. Click here to access a recording of the full session.
Dr. Nishant Shah on using an algorithmic approach to patient selection: "The most important thing is that there's a basis in medicine. It's based on research. It's evidence-based medicine, and it disregards that inherent bias we have as medical providers. Why is that important? Because the algorithmic approach is only as good as its foundation. So, if you have one that's backed up by medical evidence, you have one that has an efficient way of evaluating patients. You then can get to a point where you can decide that this is an appropriate patient for the procedure at hand — in this case, outpatient total joints.
"One of the things to keep in mind is that selecting the appropriate patient is paramount, but it doesn't mean much if you don't know what to do with the patient once that patient has been selected."
Dr. Ritesh Shah on effectively managing a patient's episode of care: "The algorithm and the clinical pathways serve as clinical support tools to help determine patient candidacy for same-day total joint surgery and for post-acute care.
"... The pathways are designed to support universal messaging. If you can make sure that all of the staff are appropriately educated in this care pathway, then that messaging to the patient is universal. And instead of [having] this fear, the patient can be confident about their care."
The presentation reflects the presenters' views, recommendations and medical opinions. ARIA is intended to be used, modified and deployed by clinical practices at their discretion and to support the practices' preferred treatment protocols. Smith+Nephew does not provide medical advice. It is the treating healthcare provider's responsibility to determine the best course of treatment for their patient.