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Consultation phone services linked with reduced number of unnecessary ED visits after TJA
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Implementation of a consultation phone service reduced the number of unnecessary ED visits among patients who underwent total joint arthroplasty and detected patients who required further care, according to results.
Researchers gathered information on all patients who called the consultation phone service within 90 days of an index TJA procedure for 2 months. At 2 weeks after the call to record major complications and any self-initiated ED visits made during the study time period, researchers followed up all patients to evaluate the functionality of the consultation service.
Of the 288 phone calls analyzed, results showed 41% were related to medication; 17% were related to wound complications; and 15% were related to mobilization issues. Researchers found patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty called nearly twice as often regarding medication-related issues, while patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty called more often about swelling, mobilization and wound-related problems.
According to results, 64% of the calls required no further action beyond instructions given by the nurse who answered the call. Researchers found instructions to visit the hospital ED occurred in 26% of calls following a revision procedure and 10% of calls following a primary procedure.
Of the 36 patients advised to visit the hospital ED for further evaluation, 14 patients were diagnosed with a condition that required treatment. Visits to the ED without being instructed to do so included 20 patients within 2 weeks of calling the consultation service. Researchers noted two of the 20 patients were diagnosed with a condition that required treatment. – by Casey Tingle
Disclosures: Hällfors reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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