THE #1 ADVANTAGE FOR THA OR TKA TELE-REHABILITATION (Orthopedics This Week)
New work presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has found that tele-rehabilitation doesn’t have to mean that patients end up back in the hospital.
The study, “Tele-Rehabilitation for Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Patients: No Increase in Readmissions,” followed 40 patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) but then, in addition to four to six traditional/face-to-face physical therapy sessions, did rehab sessions at home with an animated avatar called VERA (virtual exercise rehabilitation assistant).
The tele-rehabilitation patient outcomes were compared to 614 patients who were discharged to home and underwent home or outpatient physical therapy following THA or TKA.
The tele-rehabilitation group had essentially the same low 30 day to 90-day readmission rates that were recorded for patients that had traditional home or outpatient physical therapy.
The tele-rehab group had the following readmission statistics—30 day, 2.5% vs. 4.2% (for traditional rehab patients); 90 day, 2.5% vs. 5.7% (traditional).
The researche...
