Project Overview

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. is a global medical technology leader in musculoskeletal healthcare offering orthopedic reconstructive products, spine, sports medicine, and dental implants. As value-based care made post-surgical outcomes financially critical, Zimmer Biomet needed a patient app guiding orthopedic patients through recovery and rehabilitation to reduce complications and readmissions.

Challenge

  • Post-operative readmission rate for joint replacement averaged 8.4% costing $12,000-$18,000 per readmission
  • No digital connection between device manufacturer and patient during recovery
  • Rehabilitation adherence dropped from 82% in week 1 to 34% by week 6
  • Pre-operative education delivered in single office visit with poor retention
  • Pain management guidance limited to discharge instructions often lost
  • No patient-reported outcome data between follow-up visits

Solution

  • Developed comprehensive surgical journey app covering pre-op through full recovery
  • Created daily rehab exercise program with video instruction, tracking, and adaptive difficulty
  • Built pain management module with medication scheduling, pain tracking, and physician alerts
  • Designed wound monitoring with scheduled photo capture and AI-assisted complication assessment
  • Developed patient-reported outcome surveys at clinically relevant intervals with automated alerting
  • Implemented pre-operative education with countdown checklist and preparation videos

Result

  • Readmission rate reduced from 8.4% to 6.1% (28% reduction)
  • Rehab adherence maintained above 68% through week 6 (up from 34%)
  • Pain tracking identified 340 cases requiring early intervention in first year
  • Wound monitoring detected 44 potential infections 2.4 days earlier than standard follow-up
  • PRO completion reached 78% providing unprecedented between-visit data
  • Pre-operative education improved surgical preparedness by 44%
  • Patient satisfaction improved from 4.0 to 4.7 out of 5

Client Remark

“Joint replacement patients go home with paper instructions and a 6-week follow-up. What happens between determines their outcome. MDA developed an app guiding recovery daily with exercises, pain tracking, and wound monitoring. Readmissions dropping 28 percent saves health systems millions while patients recover better.”

– Ivan Tornos, President & CEO, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.