Vega Healthcare, as a subject matter expert contractor to Corrigo Healthcare Solutions, staffed the comprehensive assessments of two joint replacement programs at Veteran Administration facilities in the Northeast US.   Not unlike community and academic hospitals across the country, delivering effective care for joint pain in the VA systems requires coordinated care across community-based clinics and within multiple hospital departments and among medical professionals.  The assessment process and report of recommendations is part of the VA’s focused efforts on improving the services and patient experiences within the systems of care. 

The team’s key observations included:

-veterans, largely due to an older population, typically have multiple comorbidities, making effective treatment more complex

-the joint replacement programs needed single points of program leadership for each hospital

-organizing the programs as end-to-end services rather than discrete services and events

-ensuring timely access to orthopedic specialists and clinic and hospital services through thorough preparation and patient navigation

-providing primary care physicians clinic-based support tools to help patients with joint pain who may not be candidates for joint replacement

-documenting and communicating the quality, appropriateness and effectiveness of care it delivers to veterans to key audiences