title: Factors determining discharge destination for patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty.
abstract: Discharge destination to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) following total joint arthroplasty (TJA) plays an important role in healthcare costs. The pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative factors of 50 consecutive patients discharged to an SNF following TJA were compared to that of 50 consecutive patients discharged to home. Patients discharged to SNFs had slower pre-operative Get Up and Go scores (TGUG), lower pre-operative EQ-5D scores, higher ASA scores, increased hospital length of stay, increased self-reported post-operative pain, and decreased physical therapy achievements. We believe that the results of this study indicate that patients who get discharged to SNFs fit a certain criteria and this may be used to guide post-operative discharge destination during pre-operative planning, which can help lower costs while helping decrease the length of inpatient stay.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Joint Replacement Service, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, California.
authors.forename: Behnam
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sharareh
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Joint Replacement Service, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, California.
authors.forename: Natasha B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Le
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Joint Replacement Service, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, California.
authors.forename: Melinda T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Joint Replacement Service, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, California.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwarzkopf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012866:Skilled Nursing Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration
keywords: discharge destination; length of stay; physical therapy; post-operative care; skilled nursing facilities