Trailblazing the Future of Care
As the nation’s healthcare system strains to manage a sour economy and an aging population, large academic medical centers like Massachusetts General Hospital are on the hot seat to cut costs. In the past, hospitals focused on finances when they wanted to reduce spending in one area to invest more in another.
Spotlight on Care Redesign Teams
Over the next decade, as a result of aging, obesity and an increasingly active senior population, it is likely that a million total joint replacements will be needed every year. The problem is that there are not enough orthopaedic surgeons to go around. Out of 500 orthopaedic residents annually, only 30 to 40 specialize in joint replacement. In the last two years, just one of 24 Mass General residents chose joint replacement as a specialty. The total joint replacement team led by Andrew Freiberg, MD, vice chair, Orthopaedic Surgery, and chief, Hip & Knee Replacement Service, is looking at strategies to reduce costs and improve access. One approach is to begin physical therapy within hours following surgery to help accelerate total joint replacement rehabilitation by one day.
Tipping the Scale
In the U.S., one out of every three adults and an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). As obesity rates climb to an historic high, the condition and its complications result in 240,000 premature deaths and medical costs of approximately $147 billion annually. Experts now predict that the up-and-coming generation of American children will be the first to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
