Total Knee Arthroplasty Communication Checklist Increases Patient Satisfaction

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Patient Communication
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Patient satisfaction after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is linked to met expectations.
• Effective surgeon-patient communication is crucial for managing patient expectations.
• A TKA communication checklist was designed to improve patient satisfaction by optimizing expectation management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare patient satisfaction in TKA between standard communication and a checklist intervention.
• To assess the impact of a TKA communication checklist on patient-reported outcomes.
• To evaluate the effect of the checklist on the duration of postoperative follow-up appointments.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study compared satisfaction scores between a standard care group and a checklist intervention group.
• Sixty patients received the TKA communication checklist, while 67 received standard care.
• Postoperative follow-up appointment duration was measured for both groups.

Main Results:

• The checklist group reported significantly higher satisfaction with overall TKA, met expectations, surgeon's care and concern, and communication ability (P=.02, P=.01).
• Satisfaction with pain relief and functional recovery did not show significant differences (P=.06).
• Follow-up appointments were longer in the checklist group by an average of 1 minute and 51 seconds (P=.001).

Conclusions:

• The TKA communication checklist effectively enhances patient satisfaction across multiple domains.
• Improved patient satisfaction has significant implications for surgeon and institutional performance metrics.
• Implementing the checklist offers benefits to patients, surgeons, and the healthcare system.