Authors (including presenting author) :
Cheung WS(1), Wong WL(1), Siu HK(1), Tsui YC(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Physiotherapy Department, Prince of Wales Hospital
Introduction :
Post-discharged total knee replacement tele-consultation (PTKR) is a TeleHealth programme targeting the total knee replacement (TKR) patients in PWH. This programme aims to minimize the service gap existing between inpatient and outpatient service – minimum 2 weeks of waiting before receiving face-to-face outpatient rehabilitation. Furthermore, patients’ compliance with home exercise is often questionable. To tackle this, PTKR has been developed.
Objectives :
1. Promote rehabilitation outcomes after discharge, including range of motion, mobility status and pain level
2. Promote TeleHealth service with good patients’ satisfaction to achieve SMART hospital care model
Methodology :
During the inpatient stay, TKR patients were recruited according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the recruitment, information about PTKR was distributed. Furthermore, a fast-tracked outpatient appointment booking was made to minimize the waiting time to within 1 week.
The tele-consultation would be held on the next working day after discharge. On the day of the consultation, patients’ mobility, knee range of motion, home environment were assessed, also, exercises prescribed through HA Go were reinforced. Thus, their exercise compliance would be checked, and patient empowerment be done.
During the first outpatient appointment, objective measurements including Modified Functional Ambulation Categories (MFAC), Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and Knee range of motion (ROM) were recorded. Furthermore, a satisfaction questionnaire would be filled out by them. Results were collected for analysis.
Result & Outcome :
Total of 18 patients were recruited for PTKR in the orthopedic ward of PWH from August 2023 to December 2024. 33% of patients showed improvement in MFAC compared to inpatient discharge, which is only 17% for non-PTKR patients who received TKR in PWH orthopedics ward, but unable to have PTKR due to various reasons. 100% of the patients showed no deterioration in NPRS and knee ROM.
For the satisfaction questionnaire, 100% of the patients showed satisfaction towards the tele-consultation. 94% of patients showed willingness to receive it again. Furthermore, 88% of patients agreed or strongly agreed that PTKR helped them to save time; 94% of patients agreed or strongly agreed that PTKR reduced pain due to transportation; 88% of patients agreed or strongly agreed that PTKR can achieve similar quality compared to face-to-face consultation.
