Alberta expands speedy hip, knee replacement program

A top health official says it will take more than a year to eradicate the long waiting list for knee and hip joint replacement surgeries in Alberta.

The province announced Monday that a new program for managing such cases is going to be extended provincewide following a successfultwo-year pilot project in Red Deer, Edmonton and Calgary.

The new way of dealing with knee and hip joint cases has cut the wait time from more than a year to about three months.

Doctor Ron Zernicke, head of the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute, warned that the long waiting lists currently in place won'tvanish overnight. His institute is getting $6.8 million to help roll out the program across the province.

"My estimation would be it's going to be over the next year. That it's going to take time to really implement this fully within each of those three regions, and then what we'll need to do is to make sure the other six regions also get the same central intake clinics set up."

Under the $20-million pilot project, patients attended a hip and knee replacement centre, where they were cared for by a team. The clinics are also one-stop shops incorporating various pre- and post-operation appointments at one location.

Zernicke says patients who are diagnosed as needing a hip or knee joint replacementin Calgary, Edmontonor Red Deer willnow be handled under the new protocol. Patients in other centres will gradually come under the program starting later this year.