Impact of a preoperative education program via interactive telehealth network for rural patients having total joint replacement.

Traditional preoperative education programs have demonstrated the beneficial effects for orthopaedic patients. However, attending preoperative education classes became too difficult for patients, their families, and their friends who traveled great distances from their homes in rural Kentucky. A multidisciplinary continuous quality improvement team from University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center created a pilot project to provide preoperative education programs for their total joint patients via an interactive telehealth network. The use of telecommunications technology in providing patient preoperative health education was successful in attracting patients from remote areas who otherwise may not have participated. The program has continued for 2 years.