OrthoAlign – Proactive DME & Home Health Coordination

Role: Program Manager - Allegheny Health Network Care Management and Transitional care

For patients undergoing knee and hip replacements, timely coordination of home health and durable medical equipment (DME) was critical. Yet, delays in equipment delivery and scheduling often disrupted the 24-hour discharge window and slowed recovery. I created the OrthoAlign program to solve this problem through smarter workflow design and proactive coordination.

I developed an interactive flagging system within the EMR that identified surgical patients early and automatically placed them on a coordination list. This triggered pre-surgery preparation for both DME delivery and home health scheduling, ensuring that services were arranged before the procedure even began.

To eliminate last-minute issues, I introduced vendor closets at orthopedic offices, allowing patients to pick up necessary equipment during pre-op appointments. At the same time, I collaborated with home health teams to pre-book start-of-care visits, aligning discharge timing with clinical readiness.

Impact:The program significantly improved discharge efficiency, reducing costly delays and ensuring patients left the hospital with everything they needed for recovery. By addressing operational bottlenecks before surgery, OrthoAlign enhanced patient satisfaction, improved outcomes, and lowered overall care coordination costs.