Exploring variation in patient access of post-discharge physiotherapy following total hip and knee arthroplasty under a choice based system in the UK: an observational cohort study.
David F HamiltonFanny C LothDeborah J MacDonaldGary J MacFarlaneDavid J BeardA Hamish Rw SimpsonJames T PattonColin R HowiePublished in: BMJ open (2019)
In a choice-based service model of 'therapy as required' following hip and knee arthroplasty only a third of THA and half of TKA patients accessed post-discharge therapy. Patients who did not access physiotherapy reported greater post-operative outcomes. This variation in the need for post-discharge physiotherapy suggests that targeting of rehabilitation may be a cost-effective model, however it was not possible to reliably predict which patients would access post-discharge physiotherapy from pre-operative data.