New research from UCRH researchers has explored the implementation, feasibility and safety of a day-stay joint replacement pathway in a regional public hospital in Australia.
With the volume of joint replacement procedures in Australia increasing, this growth is placing considerable pressure on health services. Innovations that support the ability to manage sustained high bed demands in public hospitals in addition to escalating costs of joint replacements are a priority for public health systems in Australia. Day-stay joint replacement procedures have been proposed as safe and may help health systems cope by reducing length of stay. Despite its potential day-stay joint replacement pathways have not been widely documented in Australia.
Addressing this gap, the research paper Implementation of a day-stay joint replacement pathway in an Australian regional public hospital: A descriptive study has now been published the Australian Journal of Rural Health. The study demonstrates that day-stay joint replacement surgery can be safely implemented in a regional or rural public health setting and is acceptable to patients.
It details a day-stay pathway and describes shared learnings to guide practice and support implementation of day-stay joint replacement pathways, particularly in regional hospitals in Australia.
