An initiative that helps patients reduce knee and hip joint pain, while removing the need for surgery in the majority of cases, has won the inaugural Secretary’s Award for Value Based Healthcare at the 2019 NSW Health Awards.
The ‘My Aching Joints’ initiative provides timely and seamless access to care and improves osteoarthritis joint pain and function in two out of three patients.
The project was developed in collaboration with North Coast Primary Health Network and uses evidence-based intervention to target a patient’s modifiable health and lifestyle factors, like weight loss and physical activity to reduce joint pain while improving function.
Participating patients self-manage their physical activity program and are kept informed on their treatment through a single point of contact between their physiotherapists, GPs, and orthopedic surgeons.
Project leader Chris Hanna said he and the team were thrilled to have received statewide recognition.
“This project has been a huge success in the Tweed Valley, so to receive this award at a state level is a huge bonus for us,” Mr Hanna said.
“It also gives us an even better foundation for rolling out this program statewide in the future.
“We emphasise patient empowerment through helping them to better understand joint pain. This, combined with ongoing support from clinicians, reduces the need for surgery in most cases,” he said.
Learn more about osteoarthritis via HealthPathways:
For a list of all localised pathways see:
Mid and North Coast Localised Pathways
Username: manchealth
Password: conn3ct3d
For further information about HealthPathways email [email protected] or [email protected].