Physical Therapists in Interdisciplinary Teams: Supporting Discharge After Hip and Knee Arthroplasty.

Abstract

From a physical therapist's perspective, this paper underscores key aspects of an orthopaedic same-day discharge program from a post-anesthesia care unit in a tertiary hospital. In collaboration with the orthopaedic surgical team and the nursing colleagues in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU), physical and occupational therapists concentrate on safe mobilization goals for patients recovering from total hip and knee arthroplasty procedures. This quality improvement project reveals that the data collected from August 2022 to August 2024 indicate improved rates of discharge on the day of surgery without negatively impacting readmission rates or the need to return to the operating room.