What Does it Mean to be a DNV Orthopaedic Center of Excellence?

When it comes to healthcare, you should be able to expect a certain standard of quality, but how do you know if the care you’re receiving measures up?

Why is DNV important?

Many healthcare organizations seek accreditation to demonstrate their ability to meet requirements and establish a standard of quality that patients can trust. This external review process can help hospitals and specialty programs improve quality of care, streamline operations, and reduce liability risks. The goal of accreditation is to ensure that patients are receiving excellent medical care.

DNV Healthcare is one of these independent certification organizations. DNV surveys hospitals and specialty programs, focusing on patient quality, safety, and satisfaction.  These three areas are essential to excellent patient care. In awarding these certifications, DNV provides information for patients to make decisions regarding the level and quality of care they will receive.

Out of all orthopaedics programs in the state of Tennessee, there is only one that has achieved a DNV Orthopaedic Center of Excellence designation: Erlanger Orthopaedics.

How DNV obtained?

To achieve this prestigious distinction, an orthopaedics program must obtain certification in three or more subspecialty programs.

Erlanger Orthopaedics holds certifications in:

• Foot and ankle surgery
• Hip and knee replacement
• Shoulder surgery

Erlanger Orthopaedics remains the only program in the region to obtain each. These certifications are based on guidelines from DNV and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

“The DNV certification is a rigorous accreditation process that requires a hospital-wide team effort,” said Medical Director of Erlanger Orthopaedics, Dr. Mark G. Freeman. “As the first and only DNV Orthopaedic Center of Excellence in Tennessee, we have achieved certification in shoulder, hip and knee, and foot and ankle surgery. These accolades validate that Erlanger consistently provides our region the highest quality, highest safety, best practice orthopaedic care. In addition, we leverage those best practices across all of our other orthopaedic services to care for any of your musculoskeletal healthcare needs.”

As a hospital or specialty program, achieving accreditation is the first step. Maintaining accreditation is the goal. Programs that achieve and maintain accreditations are those that are steadily improving. Because medicine is constantly changing and evolving, the way healthcare organizations care for their patients must also improve to meet those rapidly changing standards. Erlanger Orthopaedics has been DNV-certified for five straight years.

“Our patients are the driving force behind everything we do at Erlanger,” said Eileen Shrum, Director of Patient Safety, Quality, and Accreditation at Erlanger. “Accreditation is a tool we use to make everyone accountable and progress towards the same goal. These quality certifications make a good hospital or specialty program a great one, and we’re proud to be part of the elite group of DNV facilities that have achieved this designation.”

From joint pain and sports medicine to orthopaedic trauma and oncology, Erlanger Orthopaedics is the only comprehensive orthopaedic program in the region, providing the highest quality, highest safety, and best practice care. If you find yourself in need of orthopaedic care, don’t settle for anything less than excellence.