Remote physical therapy may be viable option for same-day discharge after TKA
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Key takeaways:
- Results showed no clinically significant differences between in-person and remote physical therapy.
- In-person therapy cost an average $462.80 in co-pays and 133 minutes of travel time.
Results from a randomized clinical trial showed remote postoperative physical therapy may be a viable option for patients discharged the same day after total knee arthroplasty.
“The [electronic remote perioperative management] ERPM [remote physical therapy] RPT program in this study is a viable, cost-effective rehabilitation strategy that offers improved convenience and an excellent means of postoperative patient monitoring for patients who are discharged on the same day after total knee arthroplasty,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Researchers randomly assigned 171 patients who were discharged the same day after TKA to receive either remote physical therapy (n = 76) or physical therapy (n = 95). All patients were also enrolled in an electronic remote perioperative management program that included educational information data collection for patient-reported outcome measures.
The primary outcome of the study was knee range of motion. Secondary outcomes included patient-reported outcome measures, functional assessment and patient satisfaction.
Researchers found only significant difference at 1year was the Veterans Rand-12 physical component score, but the result not clinically significant.
In addition, there were no other significant differences in any patient-reported outcome measures, functional assessments, knee range of motion or patient satisfaction at any timepoint.
In terms of travel time and cost, researchers found the in-person physical therapy group attended an average of 11.57 sessions, spending an average of 133 minutes in travel time and $462.80 in co-pays. Meanwhile, participants in the remote physical therapy program did not have any expenses or travel time.
“The authors encourage the utilization of ERPM RPT for all patients who can use an internet-connected device, ambulate independently and have an available care partner at home,” the researchers wrote. “However, supervised PT should be readily available for more frail patients needing more substantial postoperative support.”
They added, “Despite these encouraging results, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine the ideal candidates for remote supervision.”
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