Adding Value in Knee Arthroplasty Post-total Knee Replacement (TKR) Care Navigator Trial

The "Post-TKA Care Navigator" proof of concept intervention will be implemented as a randomized controlled trial. The investigators aim to identify and enroll a cohort of up to 300 subjects who have decided to undergo total knee replacement (TKA) at BWH. Subjects will be patients of the five orthopedic surgeons at Brigham and Women's Hospital who perform the most TKAs: Drs. Wright, Brick, Ready, Martin and Thornhill. Subjects will be followed from about two weeks prior to the operation to six months after discharge.

The investigators will assign patients into two groups, at random: 1) receiving current standard of post-operative care and 2) adding "Post-TKA Care Navigator". The role of the Care Navigator will be to follow up with patients via frequent telephone conversations, ranging from weekly during the first month to bi-weekly for the next 6 weeks to monthly by the 14th week post op. subjects assigned to the care navigator will receive up to 10 telephone calls over a period of 5 months. The goal of the Care Navigator would be to ensure or encourage compliance with physical therapy, triage patient concerns, questions and complaints, and identify those patients that require a call from a clinician to address a problem in the recovery process. For those issues that can be resolved easily at home the navigator would suggest strategies. The value of the post-TKA Care Navigator will be assessed by comparing functional status, satisfaction with surgery, utilization of health care, adherence to physical therapy, range of knee motion and intervention costs across the two randomized groups.

Inclusion criteria

• Scheduled to undergo primary TKA at Brigham & Women's Hospital
• Osteoarthritis is the principal underlying diagnosis
• Age >=40 at the projected date of TKA
• English-speaking

Exclusion criteria

• Osteoarthritis is not the principal underlying diagnosis (e.g. inflammatory arthritis)
• Dementia
• Psychological issues that preclude participation, as identified by participating surgeons
• Non-English speaker
• Diagnosis other than Osteoarthritis or secondary Osteoarthritis
• Age < 40 at the projected date of TKA
• Lives in a nursing home
• Implantation of Unicompartamental Knee Arthroscopy or Interpositional Arthroplasty
• Bilateral TKA in same admission (simultaneous)or planned bilateral within 6 months