UAMS Ranked Among Top Joint Replacement Providers
LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) ranks among the top 10% in the nation for joint replacement surgery, according to new research by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems.
Healthgrades presented UAMS leaders with a Specialty Excellence Award in joint replacement at a ceremony June 8.
| “The patient experience is, in many ways, one of the most important measures of how well we do our work, and of course minimizing complications is fundamental to that experience,” said Steppe Mette, senior vice chancellor for UAMS Health and CEO of UAMS Medical Center. “This recognition speaks to our orthopaedic team doing that work exceptionally well.”
Each year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 32 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions using Medicare data, and all-payer data from 16 states for bariatrics and appendectomy procedures.
Healthgrades Specialty Excellence Awards recognize hospitals with superior performance in specific specialty lines and specialty focus areas. For the 2021 Report to the Nation, Healthgrades compared Specialty Excellence Award recipients for Joint Replacement as a group, to all other hospitals, as a group, and found that from 2017-2019, patients treated at hospitals receiving the Joint Replacement Specialty Excellence Award have, on average, a 59.5% lower risk of experiencing a complication while in the hospital than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.
“The importance of hospital quality is top of mind for consumers, as they are becoming more aware of the differences of care provided by different hospitals. Consumers can feel confident knowing that hospitals that are recognized for their performance in joint replacement provide high quality care and superior outcomes,” said Brad Bowman, M.D., chief medical officer of Healthgrades.
The award was presented to Mette, along with C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery; and surgeons Simon Mears, M.D., Ph.D.; Jeffrey Stambough, M.D.; and Ben Stronach, M.D.
“I appreciate the work of our exceptionally talented team. This team includes not only the surgeons but every UAMS team member who interfaces with our total joint patients,” said Barnes. “Our mission remains to provide the most safe, efficient and high-quality joint replacement possible for the patients in our state and region. While we are excited to receive this recognition and award, the feedback that means the most to us is when our patients return to pain free lifestyles, getting back to the things they enjoy doing.”
UAMS Medical Center was also recognized for the following clinical achievements:
- Five-Star Recipient for Total Knee Replacement for Four Years in a Row (2018-2021)
- Five-Star Recipient for Total Hip Replacement for Three Years in a Row (2019-2021)
For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide to assess hospital performance in 32 common conditions and procedures, and evaluated comparative outcomes in appendectomy and bariatric surgery using all-payer data provided by 16 states. Healthgrades recognizes a hospital’s quality achievements for cohort-specific performance, specialty area performance and overall clinical quality. Individual procedure or condition cohorts are designated as 5-star (statistically significantly better than expected), 3-star (not statistically different from expected) and 1-star (statistically significantly worse than expected). The complete Healthgrades 2021 Report to the Nation and detailed study methodology, can be found at https://partners.healthgrades.com/healthgrades-quality-solutions/healthgrades-quality-awards/.