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GOAL 2: EFFICIENT CARE (EC)

The Shoulder and Upper Limb Unit is committed to providing efficient care. This is known as the “Right care in the right place at the right time.” The
appropriate utilization of services in a clinical practice benefits patients and maintains the financial sustainability of Abu Dhabi’s health care system.
Efficient care is also an important part of a quality-based practice.

For 2016, our goal of Efficient Care (EC) included the following three objectives: (1) Explore all relevant conservative treatments prior to surgery;
(2) Develop clinical protocols to reduce variability which is linked to reduced quality and higher cost; (3) Manage utilization of diagnostic services.

EC Objective 1: All conservative treatments are exhausted prior to surgery

Table 4, below, illustrates that the Shoulder and Upper Limb Unit’s non-surgical interventions represent the majority (89%) of its clinical work. The
diagram below does not include clinic patients who are first sent home on NSAIDs and/or exercise. All patients are contacted as a follow-up to
evaluate progress. There is a strong link between surgeons’ belief in the efficacy of non-surgical treatments and their adoption of it. 6

Table 4: Percentage of each type of Intervention in the Unit in 2016

Surgery 11%

Injections
28%
61%

Physiotherapy*

6
Stefanie N. Hofstede et al, Barriers and Facilitators Associated with non-surgical treatment Use for Osteoarthritis Patients in Orthopaedic Practice”, PL-os One. 2016; (11)1: e0147406.
The Shoulder and Upper Limb Unit