Related Experiment Videos
Assessing the outcomes of total knee replacement.
1Health of Londoners Project, East London & City Health Authority, Tredegar House, London, UK.
Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice
|September 1, 1999
Summary
Total knee replacement significantly improves patient outcomes, including knee function and general health status, as measured by clinical scores and health status scales. While outcome measurement systems are effective, their impact on driving behavioral change in healthcare settings remains limited.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic surgery outcomes research
- Health services research
- Clinical audit methodology
Background:
- Growing interest in outcome measurement across healthcare settings, including audit, management, and commissioning.
- Traditional applications of outcome measurement in research work.
Purpose of the Study:
- To study the outcomes of total knee replacement (TKR) within an acute hospital audit process.
- To develop a comparative database of TKR outcomes across multiple regional hospitals.
Main Methods:
- Utilized clinical and symptomatic measures alongside generic health status scales for outcome assessment.
- Expanded an initial single-hospital study to include multiple regional hospitals.
- Developed a comparative database for analyzing TKR outcomes.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in knee scores and general health status observed from pre-operative to 3-month follow-up.
- Sustained improvement in both outcome measures at the 1-year follow-up.
- Information systems for outcome collection and measurement proved successful.
Conclusions:
- Outcome measurement systems for total knee replacement are effective in capturing patient improvements.
- The ability of these measures to instigate behavioral change within hospitals and for purchasing agencies is limited.
- Challenges in utilizing outcome measures within hospital audits and for procurement are discussed.