News

Blue Shield of California has selected Palmdale Regional Medical Center® as a Blue Distinction Center+ for Knee and Hip Replacement, part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated healthcare facilities that show a commitment to delivering high-quality patient safety and better health outcomes, based on objective measures that were developed with input from the medical community and leading accreditation and quality organizations.

Facilities designated as Blue Distinction Centers® for Knee and Hip Replacement demonstrate expertise in total knee and total hip replacement surgeries, resulting in fewer patient complications and hospital readmissions. Designated facilities include hospitals (with and without an onsite Intensive Care Unit) and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASC). All designated facilities must maintain national accreditation, and ASCs are also required to have an advanced orthopedic certification. In addition to meeting these quality thresholds, hospitals designated as Blue Distinction Centers+ are on average 20 percent more cost-efficient in an episode of care compared to other facilities.

Knee and hip replacement procedures remain some of the most commonly performed, elective surgical procedures in the U.S., according to a 2018 study released by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. In 2014 there were 370,770 total hip replacements and 680,150 total knee replacements.

Palmdale Regional Medical Center is proud to be recognized by Blue Shield of California for meeting the robust selection criteria for knee and hip replacements set by the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program. Quality is key: only those facilities that first meet nationally established, objective quality measures will be considered for designation as a Blue Distinction Center+.

“Our commitment to high quality care for knee and hip surgery is a top priority,” says Richard Allen, Chief Executive Officer at Palmdale Regional. “We are also committed to high quality care in every other service we provide and consistently strive to reach the goal of being the hospital of choice in the high desert region. Our staff for knee and hip surgery do the hard work and the recognition from this program reflects their success. We are all very proud of this accomplishment.”

“Thank you to Palmdale Regional Medical Center for providing excellent care to knee and hip patients. Blue Shield of California believes in standing for what is right and providing all Californians with high-quality care that’s worthy of our family and friends. And with this Blue Distinction recognition, we are that much closer to reaching our mission as an entire healthcare system,” stated Jamie Chan, Vice President of Clinical Quality at Blue Shield of California.

The Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality care in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacements, maternity care, spine surgery, substance use treatment and recovery and transplants. Research for many of these programs show that, compared to other providers, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients.