WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Joint Replacement Program at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has been designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement SM by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA).
The designation for hip and knee replacement centers is new this year and, according to the BCBSA, is awarded to “facilities that have demonstrated an objective commitment to quality care, resulting in better overall outcomes for patients who undergo knee and hip replacement procedures.
Wake Forest Baptist also has Blue Distinction® designations for cardiac care, bariatric surgery, and for 12 complex and rare cancers.
Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care® were created to provide Blue Cross Blue Shield members and their physicians with a credible, easily identifiable means of selecting facilities that meet their individual health care needs. The designations are based on rigorous, evidence-based, objective selection criteria established in collaboration with physicians’ and medical organizations’ recommendations.
Blue Distinction® centers for knee and hip replacement provide data that they have the following:
- An experienced knee and hip replacement surgery team, including surgeons with board certification, subspecialty fellowship training, and case volumes that meet the selection criteria for knee and hip replacement procedures
- An established acute care inpatient facility, including intensive care, emergency care, and a full range of patient support services
- A comprehensive quality management program
- Pre-operative patient education
- Processes that support transitions of care, and
- Multi-disciplinary teams and clinical pathways to coordinate and streamline care.
Detailed information about additional selection criteria can be found at the Blue Distinction® website at www.bcbs.com/innovations/bluedistinction.
For more information about the Joint Replacement Program at Wake Forest Baptist, go to wfubmc.edu/jointreplacement or call (336) 716-8091.
Media Relations
Marguerite Beck: marbeck@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-2415