NRH and ICOR Launch Major Study on Rehabilitation Care for Joint Replacement Patients

A team of researchers from National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH), in Washington, D.C., and the Institute for Clinical Outcomes Research (ICOR), in Salt Lake City, UT, has launched an unprecedented 24-month study to investigate the post-acute management of patients with hip and knee replacements in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

The study aims to identify the types of joint-replacement patients that are best served in each type of post-acute facility, taking into account the types of services and therapies rendered in both settings of care. In order to capture the diversity of practice in SNFs and IRFs, 20 facilities and 2,800 patients from across the nation are expected to be enrolled in the study.

A 20-member Policy Advisory Panel, consisting of payers, consumers, providers, trade groups, professional associations and government agencies, as well as other researchers, will advise the research team. The panel was designed to ensure that study findings will ultimately assist policy makers and providers in optimizing post-acute placement and service delivery decisions. The Panel will hold its first meeting on September 27, 2005 in Washington, DC.

The NRH-ICOR study team is taking a “best-practices” approach that identifies practice patterns associated with best outcomes across different types of patients and facilities. “This is a full, open, no-bars-held inquiry,” says Gerben DeJong, PhD, senior fellow at the National Rehabilitation Hospital and the study’s principal investigator. “It will provide important ‘practice-based evidence’ needed in shaping post-acute policy and practice related to the rehabilitation care of patients with joint replacements in both SNFs and IRFs.”

The study comes on the heels of a recent call by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), urging government, academic and industry groups to conduct research in this area. Funding for the project is being provided by a consortium of hospital industry-based organizations, including the HealthSouth Corporation, the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the American Hospital Association, the National Rehabilitation Hospital, and others. “I am inspired by the unprecedented way in which the industry has taken a leadership role and reached out to diverse stakeholders such as those represented on the study’s Policy Advisory Panel,” said DeJong.

Early study results are scheduled for release in the fall of 2006, followed by more detailed findings in the months thereafter.

For more information contact Donal Lauderdale, study dissemination and utilization manager. (Donal.Lauderdale@Medstar.net)