Health Information Technology in Care Delivery for Veterans Undergoing Orthopedic Surgery

A presentation at ASHP 2018 Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition showed success in tracking operative clinical progress, opiod use and pain scores, and chronic postsurgal pain risk factors in veterans by utilizing new health information technology (HIT).

Shardool Patel, PharmD, Salt Lake City VA Medical Center shared that the veterans Administration Salt Lake City Heathcare System Transitional Pain Service (TPS) developed the Follow-Up Report (FUR) to track the progress of veterans. “The FUR calculates and chronologically sorts follow-up dates for pre-specified intervals to prioritize care delivery.”

Dr Patel explained that a retrospective cohort study to evaluate the role of the FUR on care coordinaton after discharge from surgery was performed. The study identified 96 veterans discharged from orthopedic surgery procedures from the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System between January 17, 2018 and June 1, 2019; it accounted for 100 surgical procedures. 

Results concluded that a high proportion of veterans complete follow-up using the customizable HIT. The study showed 82% follow-up on day two, an all-time low drop to 69% on days 21 and 90, climbing back to 75% on day 120.

“The synergy beween HIT and dedicated population-health programs holds immense potential for optimizing care delivery. Our model of TPS and the FUR can be replicated to direct care delivery in other service lines within VA and beyond,” said Dr Patel.

—Edan Stanley