Higher quality of care and less surgery after implementing osteoarthritis guidelines in primary care - long-term results from a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Purpose: To improve quality of care for patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA), a structured model for integrated OA care was developed based on international recommendations. At 6 months, patient-reported quality of care and satisfaction with care were greater, more patients were referred to physiotherapy and fewer to orthopaedic surgeons, and more patients fulfilled physical activity criteria in the intervention group compared to the usual care group. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effects at 12 months after implementing the model in primary care.