A study published in the Journal of Arthroplasty (JOA), “Rapid Discharge and Outpatient Total Joint Arthroplasty Introduce a Burden of Care to the Surgeon,” concludes that surgeons and their teams take on additional perioperative care responsibilities for patients who go home soon after total joint arthroplasty (TJA). “Traditionally, for each hospital day, there are a multitude of touches by floor nurses, nursing aides, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, and other medical providers. When patients leave the hospital in rapid pathways, the burden and cost of this perioperative care falls onto the surgeon and the family,” the authors report. Read the full study in the JOA.
