Message from the President

Abstract

Welcome to Volume 3 of our JPOSNA.

This continues to impress in every regard. As you read through this exciting edition, you will see that JPOSNA offers something for everyone. From updates around practice management issues like coding to overviews of pain management and gait analysis to cutting edge multimedia “Masters Techniques” to important communication about efforts to improve quality in our field, JPOSNA is YOUR Journal.

And speaking of quality improvement in our field, kudos to Kevin Shea and the QSVI council for launching our Pediatric Safe Surgery Program (PSSP) which is about to go live in its beta version. I will let him share some of the details, but congratulations to the team for persistence in this effort to make care better for kids with orthopaedic problems!

See you in Dallas in May!

POSNA Safe Surgery Program 2021

The POSNA Safe Surgery Program (PSSP) does not seek to rank individual centers with respect to other centers–the logistical, operational, and statistical obstacles to this approach are significant. Practice assessment and risk factor adjustment are major obstacles to ranking. Furthermore, we do not believe that formal program ranking is the optimal way to drive quality and performance improvement amongst POSNA member surgeons and affiliated health systems. Our goal is to develop a program that supports all POSNA members and affiliated health systems on their path to ideal care–the right treatment for each patient, the best possible outcome, with zero harm. 

After greater than 2 years of development work, the POSNA Safe Surgery Program (PSSP) will enter a 2-year Demonstration Period. In order to refine the program, we begin an evaluation phase where the program will be available to POSNA BOD members and QSVI Committee Chairs. Our primary goals include:

1. To focus upon patients and their families as we improve outcomes


2. To engage the physician expertise of POSNA members to develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of quality metrics


3. To provide expert clinicians a framework to decide best practices which optimize outcomes in different subspecialties

At this stage, 24 metrics have been developed with input from small, medium, and large centers as well as private independent groups and major academic centers in the following subspecialties: Spine, Sports, Hip/Lower Extremity, Hand/Upper Extremity, and Trauma. These metrics will be available on the POSNA website, and beta testing sites will answer questions and provide detailed responses to these metrics. We expect that different programs will solve clinical challenges with unique and effective approaches. Regular progress reports will be provided to the Quality Safety Value Council and the BOD. We will modify our metrics as appropriate, and we will provide updates to the POSNA membership going forward. We intend to use this information to develop a “learning collective” in which information is shared freely and to create quality performance improvement opportunities across centers. We strive not just for high reliability but also effectiveness and efficiency of care. We seek to become a HERO–Highly Effective and Reliable Organizations.

The POSNA Safe Surgery Program recognizes that healthcare is provided in a highly matrixed, complex care environment that requires a large team. While individual surgeons play a major role in the leadership of the care team, we are dependent upon our health system to provide the resources necessary to provide optimal care to our patients and families.  As such, many of the metrics emphasize the importance of health system commitment and provision of appropriate resources to provide ideal care. These metrics will provide POSNA members a framework upon which to build administrative, operational teams in their ambulatory and surgical environments.

We look forward to your feedback on the POSNA Safe Surgery Program.