Preoperative Patient Education for Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: Financial Benefit?

Of 904 patients who underwent primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) at
the same hospital, 802 participated in a preoperative education day called ‘‘Joint Academy’’ (JA). The length of stay of JA participants was 2.12 days (49.5%) less than patients who did not attend a JA (p < .01). JA attendees were 62% more likely to be discharged to home (p < .01) and had an average internal hospital cost $1,493 (18.9%) lower than the non-JA group (p < .01). Total costs incurred by JA attendees averaged $4,016 (27.2%) less than total costs for those patients who did not participate in a JA (p < .01). Patient participation in a preoperative education program may significantly reduce overall costs for primary TKA and THA procedures. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 24(4):246–251, 2015) Key words: cost reduction, patient education, total hip arthroplasty, total knee arthroplasty