As a leader in orthopedics, Panorama participates in many research studies to continue to be on the cutting edge of patient care. Panorama is widely recognized as a leader in the Rocky Mountain region and is consistently selected to take part in national and international studies. On October 15, Zimmer Biomet and Apple launched a revolutionary clinical study aimed at improving the patient experience for hip and knee replacement patients; Panorama was selected as one of only 17 locations across the country to participate in this study, one of the largest in orthopedic history.
Zimmer and Apple developed the Zimmer mymobilityTM app to help keep patients on track as they progress through their hip and knee replacements. By using Zimmer’s mymobilityTM app and Apple’s Apple Watch and iPhone, the study will be able to provide surgeons and doctors with unprecedented patient data both before and after surgery. This will open a constant line of communication between surgeon and patient. Doctors can check in on the activity levels and movement of their patients and whether they are completing assigned exercises. Doctors will be able to send their patients educational materials or information items on their rehab and surgery more quickly and more responsively than ever providing patients with support and guidance as they prepare for and recover from joint replacements.
The study will enroll as many as 10,000 patients whose activity data will be continuously shared with their doctors. Through the app, information about patients’ steps, flights climbed, active calories, exercise minutes, heart rate, and standing hours will be sent to surgeons on a consistent basis, creating an incredible amount of information sharing between patient and surgeon. As they progress through the study, this data will be combined with patient feedback to provide new insights into improving the way patients experience hip and knee replacements. With this data, surgeons and care teams will be able to make better informed decisions like anesthetic selection and monitor recovery progress much more accurately.
Patients who would like to participate in this study will incur no additional costs and be provided an Apple Watch to help with the tracking of health data for the study if they do not already have one. They will be helping to transform the experience of hip and knee replacement patients – the goal being to ease the fear and anxiety that many face before a surgery.
The surgeons at Panorama are excited to participate as researchers in this study, implementing the newest technologies to help improve patient outcomes. Hip and knee replacements are among some of the most popular surgeries in the United States and in using the data from this study, it is the goal that cost, recovery, and standards of care will be improved across the board.
