It shouldn't come as a surprise, but communication and coordination — as exemplified by the perioperative surgical home (PSH) model of health care — appear to promote efficiency, save money and increase patient satisfaction, a new study suggests.
The PSH model — in which the anesthesiologist is the focal point of a coordinated approach that includes primary care physicians, surgeons, and other specialists — is an acclimation to increased emphasis on improving quality and reducing costs.
In the study, which included 1,356 total joint patients, half of whom were cared for under the PSH model, and half of whom were cared for under the traditional — you might say, disjointed — model, the PSH patients fared better from start to end. They had 9% and 22% fewer imaging and laboratory tests, respectively, they required 87% fewer units of blood, and their length of stay was reduced by half a day. Not surprisingly, their satisfaction scores were higher, too, with patients reporting better pain management and better communication with physicians.
The study was carried out by TEAMHealth Anesthesia at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital, and reported at the 2016 American Society of Anesthesiologists meeting last month in Chicago.
