This Success Story is a continuation of our weekly series recognizing South Island MSA Annual Award Winners.
A multidisciplinary team of clinicians has been nominated by Dr. Chris Hall for its contributions towards Innovative Leadership in Victoria. I am pleased to recognized Dr. Duncan Jacks, Dr. Jacques Smit, and the Same Day Arthroplasty Team.
The innovative work undertaken by this team, while still a work in progress, has been phenomenally successful. Inspired by work that physicians in Montreal had developed, Dr. Jacks brought together a cross-disciplinary team of physicians, nurses, allied care providers, and stakeholders. As a team, they agreed that they thought this could be done in Victoria, with improvements to pre- and post-operatory rehabilitation, as well as to novel anaesthesia protocols developed by Dr. Smit.
To date,12 patients have gone through the new-to-Victoria service, with improved pain management, enhanced and early mobility, faster recovery time, and a decrease in opioid use. Patients feel more supported in this journey. With a reduced length of stay in PACU, all surgical patients benefit. This work has also improved the experience for Island Health staff: greater standardization across multidisciplinary team and providers has meant that they don’t need to juggle variations in practice.
The improved service has been based on understanding the whole patient pathway and reengineering it, with a hope to apply this protocol to other orthopedic procedures and beyond.
As described by Dr. Hall, “This work is a brainchild of a dedicated multidisciplinary team and it is changing the way we do things. For the better.”
I am pleased to recognize Dr. Jacks, Dr. Smit, and the Same Day Arthroplasty Team with this award for Innovation Leadership.