Are Patient Decision Aids for Total Joint Replacement Cost-effective and do They Optimize the Surgical Referral Process From Primary Care?

Ministries of Health consider wait lists for total joint replacement a top priority. Research priorities to manage wait lists indicate the need to establish benchmarks that consider patient preferences. However, patients' preferences for hip or knee replacements are strongly associated with their misperceptions of the indicators for, and the risks and benefits of, these procedures. These misperceptions can be corrected with the use of patient decision aids. When decision aids are used in combination with assessing surgical eligibility, there may be a reduction in unnecessary referrals for surgery either because the patient is ineligible or because the eligible candidates make informed decisions to forgo this option. The primary study objective is to evaluate the effect of patient decision aids (PtDAs) on total wait times (wait times for surgical consultation, plus wait times for surgery) when used in combination with a general practitioner run clinic to screen patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis for surgical eligibility. Major secondary objectives include determining (a) the effect of PtDAs on surgery rates within two years, (b) the effect of PtDAs on decision quality, and (c) cost-effectiveness of PtDAs for total joint arthroplasty.