title: Ambulatory orthopaedic surgery patient education and cost of care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe and compare ambulatory orthopaedic surgery patients' reported cost of care (out-of-pocket costs, use of time, and consultations with healthcare organizations) and nurses' cost of care (use of time and consultations with other professionals such as other nurses, physicians, and anesthesiologists) when patients receive 2 different types of patient education (Internet-based or face-to-face).
  
  
  METHODS
  Pretest/posttest design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Random assignment of all ambulatory orthopaedic surgery patients in a university hospital in Finland.
  
  
  METHODS
  The experimental group received Web-based patient education and the control group received face-to-face patient education.
  
  
  METHODS
  Financial and time costs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pre-, intra-, and postoperative costs did not differ between the groups. However, Internet-based education was more time-consuming for the patient and face-to-face education was more time-consuming for the nurse. There were no differences between the groups in patients' use of consultations of healthcare professionals. Nurses' consultations were few and did not differ between the groups. The small number of patients' and nurses' consultations indicates that patients in both education methods had enough knowledge to deal with the surgery.
authors.affiliation: Katja Heikkinen, Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heikkinen
authors.forename: Sanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salanterä
authors.forename: Reima
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suomi
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lindblom
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leino-Kilpi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000191:economics*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult