Abstract
Increasing demand for total hip and total knee arthroplasty in an era of economic uncertainty and shrinking budgets has put pressure on surgeons to deliver excellent results and early functional recovery with shorter hospital stays. Patients receiving these operative interventions tend to be younger and more active. Their ultimate source of information is the Internet, which may be compromised by low quality, non-peer reviewed information, or information not at an appropriate reading level for comprehension by lower literacy individuals. Unfortunately, not all patients undergoing total hip and total knee arthroplasty are satisfied with their operative intervention. The most significant etiology of this dissatisfaction is reported to be lack of clarification and alignment of expectations between the surgeon and the patient, which may result from misinformation or lack of understanding by the patient. Furthermore, in the era of rapid recovery, length of stay has significantly decreased from 3–5 days a decade ago, now down to 1–2 days, and in some cases same day surgery. In an effort to mitigate this compromise in communication, we have developed a set of frequently asked questions and responses. These are divided into preoperative questions, perioperative questions, and postoperative questions. These are part of our patient educational materials and provide both office and hospital staff with structured responses to avoid miscommunication and misinformation. We have found it to be imperative that all information provided by the office and hospital have a consistent message.
