Hip and knee arthroplasty waiting list – how accurate and fair?

Abstract

Background. Resource-intensive procedures require the use of patient waiting lists in an attempt to increase fairness of access to surgery and improve surgical efficiency. Total hip and knee arthroplasty has waiting lists in excess of years. Objectives. To analyse our tertiary state institution's hip and knee arthroplasty waiting list to assess its accuracy. Methods. At Groote Schuur Hospital, our hospital-maintained database was compared with the surgeons' personally maintained database. Patients were then telephoned to confirm their contactability, and to discover whether they still wanted the procedure, or if they had already had it. Waiting duration and patient demographics were then calculated. Results. Of the 655 patients on the hospital waiting list, only 454 were contactable. Three hundred and nine patients still wanted the surgery, 93 had already undergone surgery and 52 no longer wanted surgery. The last group was the oldest and had had the longest waiting time. Those still waiting had waited 451 days (minimum -maximum (standard deviation), 90 -1 593 (228.5)), those that had had surgery 371 days (0 -1 728 (296)) and those no longer interested 523 days (138 -1 881 (260.9)). A total of 429 patients were present on the surgeons' list but not on the hospital list. They had had longer waiting times than those on the hospital list. Conclusion. The arthroplasty waiting list is inaccurate due to the existence of two concurrent lists and poor data management, particularly of current contact details. The unfairness of a wide range of waiting times was identified, with patients only on the surgeons' personal database disadvantaged. These deficiencies have prompted the introduction of a scoring-based prioritisation system incorporating clinical, radiographic and societal parameters, in an effort to improve fair and appropriate access to this high-cost care.

An audit of operating theatre utilisation and day-of-surgery cancellations at a regional hospital in the Durban metropole

“…Optimising theatre utilisation and minimising DOSC is important when considering long waiting times for elective surgery in SA state hospitals, which range from months to several years. [11] Patients waiting more than 6 months for surgery have been shown to experience increased anxiety, depression and unhappiness. [12] Characteristics of an efficient theatre service include prompt starts, quick changeovers, minimal intraoperative delays and few overrunning cases.…”

Chemical Ablation of Genicular Nerve with Phenol for Pain Relief in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Prospective Study

“…In developing countries, patient access to TKA is very limited with long waiting times 5,19,20 . Genicular nerve ablation with phenol offers a new and seemingly safe modality to treat KOA and improves pain intensity as well as physical functioning.…”

Primary Hip and Knee Arthroplasty at District Level Is Safe and May Reduce the Burden on Tertiary Care in a Low-income Setting

“…3,5,6 Despite this, even in developed nations a vast discrepancy exists between demand for surgery and service provision, resulting in lengthy waiting times. [7][8][9] This is perpetuated by depleted resources and an increasingly aging population, 10 especially in lowmiddle income countries, 11,12 and furthermore exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic.…”

“…With limited access to private health care, state-funded hospitals are overburdened with waiting times of more than 12 months for arthroplasty. 7 An expansion of arthroplasty services at a tertiary level may seem the obvious solution. But strategies to restrict arthroplasty to high-volume tertiary centres will notably affect older, poorer, less-educated, and rural patients, 16 widening existing economic disparities in arthroplasty surgery utilisation.…”