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Total hip replacement is a common and expensive procedure. Any attempt to shorten the length of hospital stay safely is desirable. Proposes a scoring system specifically designed for this patient population, to determine the optimal timing of safe discharge and post‐acute care placement. Discusses its implications for the quality of patient care.

Total hip replacement is a common and expensive procedure and any attempt to shorten the length of hospital stay safely is desirable. This paper proposes a scoring system specifically designed for this patient population, to determine the optimal timing of safe discharge and post‐acute care placement. The authors discuss the implications for the quality of patient care.

This bibliography is offered as a practical guide to published papers, conference proceedings papers and theses/dissertations on the finite element (FE) and boundary element (BE) applications in different fields of biomechanics between 1976 and 1991. The aim of this paper is to help the users of FE and BE techniques to get better value from a large collection of papers on the subjects. Categories in biomechanics included in this survey are: orthopaedic mechanics, dental mechanics, cardiovascular mechanics, soft tissue mechanics, biological flow, impact injury, and other fields of applications. More than 900 references are listed.

Healthcare in the public and private sectors is facing increasing pressure to become more cost‐effective. Time‐based competition and work‐in‐progress have been used successfully to measure and improve the efficiency of industrial manufacturing. Seeks to address this issue.

Presents a framework for time based management of the total cost of a patient episode and apply it to the six sigma DMAIC‐process development approach. The framework is used to analyse hip replacement patient episodes in Päijät‐Häme Hospital District in Finland, which has a catchment area of 210,000 inhabitants and performs an average of 230 hip replacements per year.

The work‐in‐progress concept is applicable to healthcare – notably that the DMAIC‐process development approach can be used to analyse the total cost of patient episodes. Concludes that a framework, which combines the patient‐in‐process and the DMAIC development approach, can be used not only to analyse the total cost of patient episode but also to improve patient process efficiency.

Presents a framework that combines patient‐in‐process and DMAIC‐process development approaches, which can be used to analyse the total cost of a patient episode in order to improve patient process efficiency.

The decision to offer joint replacement surgery should be viewed as entering into a long‐term relationship rather than a brief encounter. The rise of consumerism allied to the expansion of general practitioner fund‐holding and implementation of the ‘Patients' Charter’ has resulted in increased pressures on outpatient clinics, and the interface between primary and secondary care is central to the development of the NHS. The NHS reforms have produced guidelines on waiting times for outpatient attendances and operations, with the emphasis on a consultant‐based service. There are, however, no such guidelines for postoperative follow‐up.

Describes the history of Integrated Surgical Systems (ISS), the US company that created ROBODOC, a surgical robot system used to perform total human hip replacement surgery, and ORTHODOC, a computer workstation that enables orthopaedic surgeons to examine a patient’s bone more accurately and perform a pre‐operative plan prior to total hip replacement (THR) surgery. ISS recently went public on the NASDAQ Small Cap market. ORTHODOC has received US FDA approval, while ROBODOC’s approval is still pending. More than 850 patients in six hospitals worldwide have received surgical procedures performed by ROBODOC.

Last November a robot called the ROBODOC™ Surgical Assistant made medical history as the first robot to take an active role in orthopaedic surgery. ROBODOC's function in the operating room is to prepare a cavity for a prosthetic implant which will replace a patient's damaged or diseased hip joint. This procedure requires precision that is often unobtainable with traditional surgical tools and manual techniques.

The purpose of this paper is to assess patient satisfaction with their healthcare experience, total hip replacement outcome, compliance with post operative rehabilitation and consenting process effectiveness.

A consecutive sample of patients between January 2007 and September 2008 was identified. A novel questionnaire was designed to assess outcomes and applied via phone interview by an independent assessor.

All patients recalled the consenting/education process with a high proportion recalling surgical risks/benefits. Overall satisfaction was good or better in 76 per cent of the cohort. Post‐operative compliance with the rehabilitation programme in 70 per cent of the cohort was achieved. Walking, as the surrogate functional marker, was deemed good or better in 76 per cent.

The education process and a purposefully designed booklet helped educate patients. Those dissatisfied with physiotherapy generally underwent surgery late in the week and were assessed/treated by the emergency physiotherapy service. Consequently, full‐time weekend physiotherapy for arthroplasty patients was implemented.

Results revealed a high‐volume treatment centre with outcomes comparable to international standards. A potential problem with physiotherapy cover was identified and the loop closed.

This paper report the effectiveness of a nursing quality assurance program over three years, which demonstrates improvement in the incidence and severity of post‐operative clean wound infections and the associated extended length of hospital stay and cost. General surgery categories included cardiovascular, orthopaedic, neurosurgery, kidney, abdominal, mammary and other. Cardiovascular categories included coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), heart transplant, and atrial valve replacement. Hip replacement and total knee replacement procedures were included in the orthopaedic category. Additional length of stay and concomitant hospital costs were calculated. Results show that early reporting of observations and implementation of appropriate treatment will decrease the incidence, severity and associated costs of post‐operative clean wound infections.

The purpose of this paper is to reduce or eliminate pain while enabling full advantage and function of daily living activities after hospital discharge. Readiness for discharge depends largely on prior healthcare team preparations for both patients and their families.

This integrative review was conducted using the Whittemore and Knafl method, and synthesized published research concerning patients’ readiness for discharge, particularly those who had undergone total hip replacement (THR) surgery.

Results were categorized into five main themes as physiological experiences, psychological experiences, coping ability, needs from the healthcare team, and family support influential to the readiness of THR patients for discharge.

The preparation for discharge of THR patients should be fully engaged and addressed. Moreover, healthcare professionals should provide care for patients at both the pre- and post-operation phases as well as during the transitional phase from hospital to home.