The Total Knee Replacement (TKR) is one of the most effective surgeries performed in medicine today. Since the first TKR was performed in 1968, surgical materials, instrumentation, and technique have been constantly evolving and improving year after year. Improvements in the TKR procedure have led to less blood loss, better anatomical fit of the knee, quicker recovery time, and a decrease in the number of days a patient needs to stay in the hospital following surgery.
Recent improvements in the TKR procedure have allowed orthopedic surgeons to start performing the TKR procedure in an Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) vs. a traditional hospital setting. There are many benefits to this transition along with potentially negative consequences as well.
The benefits include less hospitalization and less exposure to nosocomial infection, the ability to recover in the comfort and safety of the patient’s own home, and the overall cost of the TKR procedure is significantly less compared to the same procedure done in a hospital.
The ability to closely monitor a patient immediately following the TKR is extremely important for many reasons.
However, there are also drawbacks. One key drawback is the challenge orthopedic surgeons face in tracking the progress of their patient’s rehabilitation, due to the quick discharge of the patient. If patient’s fall behind in achieving their rehabilitation goals, it usually leads to a less than satisfied outcome for the patient and provider.
The ability to closely monitor a patient immediately following the TKR is extremely important for many reasons. First, ensuring patients are compliant with their post-operative instructions is critical to a successful outcome. Second, it is very important to closely follow a patient post-surgery to ensure no adverse reactions occur such as infection, bowel obstruction, or a blood clot that could trigger a re-admission.
As TKR procedures are starting to move to the ASC setting, many orthopedic surgeons are turning to the KinexCONNECT platform as a value-added solution to some of the drawbacks associated with TKR. The KinexCONNECT assists and monitors knee range of motion (ROM) daily. Along with facilitating ROM, the KinexCONNECT allows the physician to customize a video-based rehabilitation program to allow the patient to perform diagnosis-specific exercises in the comfort and safety of the patient’s own home. Finally, the KinexCONNECT system includes a tablet, that works off of a cellular network to allow daily patient interaction. It does not require the download of software, applications, or the use of home internet. The KinexCONNECT and local Kinex staff monitor compliance with post-operative instruction and will assist in the identification of early warning signs that can reduce costly readmissions and ensure a successful patient outcome.
$5 Million in Annual Savings With the KinexCONNECT
The KinexCONNECT has proven to save the patient, physician, and hospital a significant amount of money while achieving high levels of patient outcomes.
Registering a doctor or an orthopedic practice on the KinexCONNECT is easy. The process takes less than 5 minutes and is completed with a member of the Kinex team. A Kinex team member is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist with any KinexCONNECT related questions a patient may have, avoiding unnecessary calls to the physician's office.
As more TKR procedures shift from being performed in hospital settings to ASC’s, it will be critical to providing post-operative monitoring to ensure patient compliance and successful patient outcome. The KinexCONNECT is a unique platform for rehabilitation following knee procedures such as TKR that has been designed to promote a high degree of patient satisfaction and compliance while saving significant costs at the same time.
KinexCONNECT is currently available nationwide. To learn more about arming your clinics, or to schedule a virtual demo session, please contact us at (214)770-9861. LEARN MORE!