Our Services

ABJHI is a leader in transforming bone and joint health care to produce better patient outcomes and more efficient service delivery. One of our greatest strengths is our ability to bring together the clinicians, managers, policymakers and researchers whose collaboration is necessary to bring about improvement and efficiency.

The Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute operates a robust data repository that integrates bone and joint data from the Alberta health system and patient-reported health outcomes. First established in 2004, the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Data Repository now captures select provincial administrative databases (ex. population, vital statistics), all inpatient (hospital) musculoskeletal activity, as well as outpatient musculoskeletal activity in emergency department, urgent care, day surgery, and select ambulatory care settings. Hip and knee clinic data captures pre- and post-surgical visits for about 90% of hip and knee arthroplasty patients in Alberta, as well as patient-reported outcomes.

We operate the repository through affiliation agreements with approximately 90 custodians of health data, including Alberta Health Services and orthopedic surgeons and other physicians. A privacy impact assessment has been approved by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC File #HS281) governing the controls in place to protect patient and provider privacy, and to ensure compliance with Alberta’s Health Information Act.

ABJHI is a recognized leader in designing integrated care paths for bone and joint patients that are based on the latest evidence of best practices and best products. By “integrated”, we mean care paths that bring together different health care professionals to work in a multidisciplinary partnership with the patient firmly at the centre, rather than handing off the patient from one care provider to the next. Integrated care is critical because most disorders that attack the bones and joints are chronic, meaning they require ongoing, possibly long-term, treatment that is multifaceted and involves different medical disciplines. ABJHI provides clients with a complete customized tool kit designed to help generate maximal value from their integrated care path, tailored to the unique needs and circumstances of individual clients and their patient populations. The result is that international best practices and protocols are implemented locally, but in a way that recognizes the uniqueness of each location.

Care paths can be supported with comprehensive frameworks for measuring outcomes against international benchmarks using carefully selected data elements and key performance indicators. Our Measurement Frameworks are built around six essential dimensions of health care quality: safety, effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, appropriateness and acceptability. By collecting and analyzing data in these dimensions, ABJHI builds a picture of performance in areas and compares the results with benchmarks– all for the purpose of continuously improving performance. ABJHI also conducts analyses of health systems – large and small – to find gaps between the practices and protocols used and those in the integrated care paths we design for them.

Better practices, protocols and products may be discovered as clinical trials occur and improved medical technologies are developed. Care paths must be updated regularly to reflect the latest evidence. ABJHI’s team has the skills and knowledge to provide ongoing support for the care paths we design. We regularly search out and synthesize evidence for our clients’ care paths to further improve practices and protocols. The evidence is presented to an expert panel of clinicians who review it and decide whether a care path should be revised to reflect the new findings.

ABJHI positions itself as an independent third party to build a high level of trust and confidence to bring together the clinicians, managers, policymakers and researchers whose collaboration is necessary to bring about improvement and efficiency in health service delivery. As a trusted broker, ABJHI can engage disparate parties and help bring their unique and valuable assets and expertise to the table, finding common ground in an open atmosphere that welcomes opinion and encourages collaboration.

Need and demand modeling is essential to accurate service and resource planning for bone and joint health care. ABJHI performs need and demand modeling for all services and all resources required for different types of bone and joint care. Accurate projections help planners identify the level of service and resources required to both meet need and demand while also reducing backlogs.

ABJHI’s research services are available for studies related to musculoskeletal health care service delivery as well as medical device and drug effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety. We offer a comprehensive service package including study design, study management, data collection, data measurement and interpretation, and results reporting. Alternatively, a more limited combination of services or a single area of support can be provided.

Better Bones, Better Joints, Better Being

As a not-for-profit organization and registered charity, we never let the quest for profit get in the way of our goal. This keeps us focused squarely on what matters the most – patients and health care delivery systems.