A JAMA Internal Medicine study cited by MedicalExpress found that older total joint replacement patients are increasingly choosing to recover at home rather than at skilled nursing facilities.
Researchers studied older adult patients who underwent a procedure or had suffered a serious illness who either went home or to a skilled nursing facility.
Three details to know:
1. Patients who recovered using home healthcare services had functional improvement at the same level as patients who recovered in a skilled nursing facility.
2. Patients who recovered at home were not more likely to die within 30 days of surgery, and costs were lower for patients who went home after surgery.
3. The researchers concluded, "As a result of these findings, we are encouraging all of our patients to consider home discharge after [total knee arthroplasty]."