Patient Maree Dietrich (R) with STARS Physiotherapist Erin Huttenmeister (L)
STARS’s new Accelerated Arthroplasty Service is delivering fast results and shorter hospital stays for joint replacement patients.
The Accelerated Arthroplasty Service, which is a first of its kind for Metro North Health, is an innovative and collaborative clinical model for joint replacement patients.
STARS Clinical Director of Surgery orthopaedic surgeon Dr Catherine McDougall explained that the Accelerated Arthroplasty Service allows patients to go home one or two days after surgery, unlike typical joint replacement patients who can remain in hospital for up to five days.
“The STARS Accelerated Arthroplasty Service is a multidisciplinary service with the patient as the focus. We have used the evidence around all aspects of the patient journey from time of booking to time of discharge home to create our model,” Dr McDougall said.
“We are excited to be able to integrate innovative and virtual technologies into the program and are very pleased with our early results providing high quality care and improving patient outcomes.”
Maree Dietrich was the first patient at STARS to receive a hip replacement with the Accelerated Arthroplasty Service.
“The team in here are beautiful. I’ve never been to STARS before – didn’t even know it existed,” Maree said.
Patients in the Accelerated Arthroplasty Service participate in a pre-admission afternoon two weeks ahead of their surgery, with physiotherapy, nursing, anaesthetics and pharmacy staff all seeing the patient.
Patients also receive a virtual home visit with an occupational therapist a week before surgery to prepare them to manage their recovery at home and provide options for support.
The goal is for the patient to come then come in for surgery on a Tuesday and be discharged home on the Thursday, with community support, therapy and group exercises at STARS afterwards.
“The follow up sheet that you get to give you instructions is all clearly laid out now from start to finish in order of what you do, because it can be quite daunting and also quite confusing, so you end up making your own notes. But not anymore, I don’t need to do that,” Maree said.
When asked what her experience at STARS had been like, Maree had nothing but praise for her treating team and the Accelerated Arthroplasty Service: “brilliant, just brilliant”.