[Results of a management plan for surgical waiting lists for hip and knee replacements]

This study describes the implementation of a management plan for surgical joint replacement waiting lists and its results after 3 years. The plan was based on the following: unification of information and scheduling, periodic review, clinical guidelines, management of demand, prioritization according to need, and increasing the services provided. During the first year, the plan succeeded in revealing the real waiting list, with 23% more patients than previously included. Three years later, 16% of the patients had not turned up for surgery after being scheduled; the mean length of hospital stay for joint replacements had been reduced by 4 days; 59.5% of the patients joining the list had been assessed with a prioritization instrument, and the number of joint replacements had increased by 16% with a reduction of 14.7% in patients waiting for joint replacements. The resolution time for these procedures had also decreased by 3 months for knee arthroplasty and by 1 month for hip arthroplasty.