Ramsay collaborates with AOA on national orthopaedics project

MedTech News: Ramsay Health Care is taking part in a national project that provides a structured way for patients to report information about their health outcomes.

Ramsay has agreed to participate in a Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS) Project facilitated by the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry (AOANJRR). 

The AOANJRR recently completed a successful pilot project which tested the feasibility of collecting PROMs data in addition to the surgical procedure data already being collected.  

The study found gathering PROMs data had major benefits for both patients and the health care system. 

According to the AOANJRR “PROMs data allows both the patient and clinician to gain important insight into the individual health care experience and promotes shared decision making.” 

Following the pilot, the Australian Orthopaedics Association (AOA) has now secured government funding to implement PROMs collection nationally and permanently within its national joint replacement registry.  

Five Ramsay hospitals were involved in the pilot project. Kareena Private, St George Private, North Shore Private, Westmead Private and Greenslopes Private will all now transition across to the ongoing national PROMs project. Other Ramsay sites and surgeons who offer joint replacement surgery will also now be encouraged to join the project. 

Patients will be surveyed on outcomes including pain, function and quality of life. Ramsay Health Care supports the collection of patient-reported outcomes as an important part of any patient journey.  

Surgeons may choose whether to participate in the study and should discuss the project with patients when booking joint replacement procedures.  

Hospitals may choose to support this process and discussions should occur at a local level around the operational aspects of the project.  

The AOA project team will be responsible for any patient follow-up and will play an active role in supporting hospitals with implementation of the project.  

Patient PROMS data is collected via an automated electronic data capture platform known as RAPID (Real time Automated Platform for Integrated Data capture). The RAPID system allows patients to be registered in the system prior to their joint replacement. Patients provide consent to participate and subsequently report on outcomes relating to their health via an online platform. Patients receive SMS or email reminders to complete the PROMS surveys at the required timepoints.  

Stakeholders including patients, surgeons and hospitals will have access to their own real-time data (via dashboards) in comparison to national averages.