From Policy to Practice: Challenges in Implementing PROMs Reporting Under the New CMS Mandate

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Health Policy
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) mandated patient-reported outcomes (PROs) reporting for total joint arthroplasty (TJA).
• This policy impacts orthopaedic surgery practices and quality initiatives.
• Understanding the implications and challenges is crucial for successful integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the implications and implementation challenges of mandatory PROs reporting in TJA.
• To analyze the benefits and limitations of PROs in orthopaedic surgery.
• To provide recommendations for integrating PROs reporting into clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on PROs in TJA.
• Analysis of CMS's role in healthcare quality.
• Identification of implementation difficulties.
• Development of recommendations for clinical practice.

Main Results:

• PROs reporting offers potential benefits for quality improvement in TJA.
• Significant implementation challenges are anticipated.
• CMS plays a key role in driving healthcare quality initiatives.

Conclusions:

• Successful integration of PROs reporting requires addressing implementation challenges.
• Policy shifts like this necessitate careful planning and adaptation in orthopaedic surgery.
• Recommendations are provided to facilitate the adoption of PROs reporting.