Patient Satisfaction with In-Home Telerehabilitation After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract

This study was embedded in a multicenter randomized controlled trial with 205 patients randomized into two groups. Rehabilitation intervention was the same for both groups; only approach for service delivery differed (telerehabilitation or home visits). Participants were assessed at baseline (before TKA), at hospital discharge, and at 2 and 4 months postdischarge (E4) using functional outcomes. Patient satisfaction was measured using the validated Health Care Satisfaction Questionnaire (HCSQ) at E4. Characteristics of all participants were similar at baseline. Satisfaction level of both groups did not differ and was very high (over 85%). It was neither correlated to personal characteristics nor to improvements of functional level from preoperative to E4. Satisfaction was rather found associated to walking and stair-climbing performances. These results, in conjunction with evidences of clinical effectiveness and cost benefits demonstrated in the same sample of patients, strongly support the use of telerehabilitation to improve access to rehabilitation services and efficiency of service delivery after TKA.