Joint replacement candidates prefer non-surgical treatment option after viewing decision aids

Patients who view decision aids prior to joint replacement surgery are more likely to choose non-surgical intervention as treatment for osteoarthritis, according to Seattle researchers.

After distributing decision aids to patients at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, researchers saw the number of joint replacement surgeries decrease. There were 26% fewer hip replacement surgeries, 38% fewer knee replacement surgeries and overall lower costs between 12% and 21% during a 6-month period, according to the abstract.

David E. Arterburn

“Decision aids are balanced sources of information that clearly present the evidence-based pros and cons of treatment options for a health condition,” David E. Arterburn, MD, MPH, lead author from the Group Health Research Institute, stated in a press release. “Our study’s real-world findings with the orthopedic decision aids are consistent with results of prior randomized trials of other kinds of decision aids.”

The decision aids were videos that outlined treatment options in plain language available to patients on DVD or through the Group Health website. Group Health is expanding their implementation of patient decision aids from distribution in randomized trials to all patients with an option to undergo elective surgery, researchers said.

Reference:

Arterburn D, Wellman R, Westbrook E, et al. Introducing decision aids at group health was linked to sharply lower hip and knee surgery rates and costs. Health Affair. 2012; Sep:31(9):2094-2104. doi:10.1377/hltaff.2011.0686.

Disclosure: The authors received a grant from The Commonwealth Fund to conduct this study.