title: Value of an orthopaedic pre-admission clinic for total knee and hip replacements in a rural health service.
abstract: The emphasis on orthopaedic pre-admission clinics within hospital settings is very recent in Australia. Tamworth Base Hospital, a large rural hospital, started a compulsory clinic in mid-1995. The purpose of this study was to determine the value of orthopaedic education in a pre-admission clinic for patients who were undergoing total knee and total hip replacements. Regarding total knee replacement patients, the average length of stay for those who attended the clinic after it had become compulsory, compared with before, was 3.8 days shorter. For total hip replacement patients, the reduction was 1.1 days. This study found that the major value of the clinic was not so much in reduced lengths of stay, rather it related more to increased patient satisfaction, and perhaps more so in the rural setting where patients are disadvantaged in many cases by the large distances they travel for services.
authors.affiliation: Tamworth Base Hospital, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D010343:Patient Admission; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012423:Rural Health