Rehab Select Blog

Returning to an active lifestyle after joint replacement surgery is an important benchmark of recovery, and the vast majority of patients for whom these procedures have become necessary are eager to reach that point. After all, many have seen slow joint deterioration and progressively worsening pain over several years that gradually limited activities, and these procedures hold the promise of restoring quality-of-life lost to that process.

Bundled care payment models can be very beneficial to your practice and your patients, provided your venture into these arrangements is well thought out and efficiently managed. Perhaps the most important thing to know as you prepare to align with this relatively new value-based payment model is that you'll need strong leadership and solid strategies to meet the cost control and quality benchmarks that are built into bundled payment plans. Among the most important points to consider as you strive to make the most of the bundled payment model, consider the following. 

Given today's faster discharge times from acute care hospitals, short term inpatient rehab is often recommended for patients who have had surgery, particularly those who have had joint replacement surgeries, other orthopedic procedures, or cardiac surgery. That's because inpatient rehabilitation therapy can help these patients get back in shape more quickly after surgery than an outpatient routine can.

If you have had joint replacement surgery or are in the process of planning a procedure with your medical team, there is no doubt that you'll be hoping to recover as quickly as possible. After all, the whole point of having a joint replaced or repaired is to regain function, mobility, and independence – to get back on your feet and back to a healthy, active life.

If a knee replacement procedure is in the cards for you, you've likely already been told that recovering from joint replacement surgery will take time and require a lot of patience and determination. Being ready for that reality is important, but so is knowing what you can do to minimize the time it takes to get back in shape and get back to your life.

Bundled payment arrangements are becoming increasingly common in heathcare today, offered by a wide variety of private health insurance companies, healthcare systems, and other healthcare stakeholders as well as Medicare and other government healthcare programs. While bundled payment is, with the advent of the Affordable Care Act, mandatory under some circumstances, for most providers these arrangements are still optional. If you're on the fence about these plans, here are 3 important reasons why participation in bundled payment programs may just make sense for your practice.

If chronic, debilitating hip pain or an injury has made hip replacement necessary for you, now is the time to learn a bit about joint replacement surgery. Understanding the process you'll go through in having that new, artificial hip joint put in and the recovery and rehabilitation period afterwards is important – both in terms of making solid health care decisions and easing stress throughout that process.

The bundled payment initiative for joint replacement surgeries was set to begin on April 1, 2016. This initiative, finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in November, 2015, is known as the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model and will affect, as of its start date, approximately 800 hospitals that deliver care to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries for hip and knee replacements and/or other major leg procedures. Here we'll get into the basic details that patients and caregivers will need to know about this initiative.

Bundled payments are on the rise as an alternative to the traditional fee-for-service model. This payment method will affect the practices of most medical professionals at some point in the near future – if they haven't already – especially in episodes of care that involve conditions with low-cost variability or procedures with reliable outcomes (joint replacement surgery, for instance). This type of reimbursement can be an opportunity for practices that manage the process well – for both practice and patients – and a loser for those who don't. 

Have you just had surgery? Are you in the process of working with your health care team, hospital discharge planners, and loved ones to work out what your next steps will be in terms of recovery and rehabilitation? Has inpatient rehabilitation after surgery been recommended for you, or perhaps simply suggested as a good alternative for your post-op care? If so, you may have questions about how short term rehab can benefit you.