Background Osteoarthritis is a disabling condition that is often associated with other comorbidities. Total hip or knee arthroplasty is an effective surgical treatment for osteoarthritis when indicated, but comorbidities can impair their results by increasing complications and social and economic costs. Integrated care (IC) models supported by eHealth can increase efficiency through defragmentation of care and promote patient-centeredness. Objective This study aims to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of implementing a mobile health (mHealth)–enabled IC model for complex chronic patients undergoing primary total hip or knee arthroplasty. Methods As part of the Horizon 2020 Personalized Connected Care for Complex Chronic Patients (CONNECARE) project, a prospective, pragmatic, two-arm, parallel implementation trial was conducted in the rural region of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. For 3 months, complex chronic patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty and their caregivers received the combined benefits of the CONNECARE organizational IC model and the eHealth platform supporting it, consisting of a patient self-management app, a set of integrated sensors, and a web-based platform connecting professionals from different settings, or usual care (UC). We assessed changes in health status (12-item short-form survey [SF-12]), unplanned visits and admissions during a 6-month follow-up, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Results A total of 29 patients were recruited for the mHealth-enabled IC arm, and 30 patients were recruited for the UC arm. Both groups were statistically comparable for baseline characteristics, such as age; sex; type of arthroplasty; and Charlson index, American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, Barthel index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, and Pfeiffer mental status questionnaire scores. Patients in both groups had significant increases in the SF-12 physical domain and total SF-12 score, but differences in differences between the groups were not statistically significant. IC patients had 50% fewer unplanned visits (P=.006). Only 1 hospital admission was recorded during the follow-up (UC arm). The IC program generated savings in different cost scenarios, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio demonstrated cost-effectiveness. Conclusions Chronic patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty can benefit from the implementation of patient-centered mHealth-enabled IC models aimed at empowering patients and facilitating transitions from specialized hospital care to primary care. Such models can reduce unplanned contacts with the health system and reduce overall health costs, proving to be cost-effective. Overall, our findings support the notion of system-wide cross-organizational care pathways supported by mHealth as a successful way to implement IC for patients undergoing elective surgery.

Abstract:The results of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews have suggested reduced radiographic wear in highly cross-linked polyethylene compared with conventional polyethylene in primary total hip arthroplasty. However, longer-term clinical results have not been thoroughly examined, to our knowledge. The purpose of this study was to compare the risk of revision for metal-on-conventional and metal-on-highly cross-linked total hip arthroplasty bearing surfaces with use of a distributed data network of six national and regional registries (Kaiser Permanente, HealthEast, the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, the Catalan region in Spain, Norway, and Australia). Inclusion criteria were osteoarthritis as the primary diagnosis, cementless implant fixation, and a patient age of forty-five to sixty-four years. These criteria resulted in a sample of 16,571 primary total hip arthroplasties. Multivariate meta-analysis was performed with use of linear mixed models, with survival probability as the unit of analysis. The results of a fixed-effects model suggested that there was insufficient evidence of a difference in risk of revision between bearing surfaces (hazard ratio, 1.20 [95% confidence interval, 0.80 to 1.79]; p = 0.384). Highly cross-linked polyethylene does not appear to have a reduced risk of revision in this subgroup of total hip arthroplasty patients. Arthroplasties involving highly cross-linked polyethylene do not appear to have an increased risk of revision in this subgroup of total hip arthroplasty patients.T otal hip arthroplasty is an effective procedure with longterm survival rates of more than 85% at twenty years of follow-up 1,2 . Despite the effectiveness of this procedure, some total hip arthroplasties require revision, usually because of wear and osteolysis. These revision procedures are associated with an increased risk of complications, re-revision, and patient mortality 3,4 . In addition, the demand for revision total hip arthroplasty is projected to increase substantially through 2030 5 . As a result, technological advances in bearing surfaces have been introduced with the aim of increasing the longevity of total hip arthroplasty implants by reducing wear and associated osteolysis and loosening. Highly cross-linked polyethylene is one example of a bearingsurface advancement introduced into the market for this purpose 6 . The results of two systematic reviews and a meta-analysis have suggested that the use of highly cross-linked polyethylene is associated with a reduced risk of radiographic wear and a lower rate of femoral head penetration [6][7][8] . In addition, the authors of several small, single-center randomized controlled trials have reported lower rates of femoral head penetration and wear in highly cross-linked polyethylene compared with conventional polyethylene [9][10][11][12]

Background Integrated care (IC) can promote health and social care efficiency through prioritization of preventive patient-centered models and defragmentation of care and collaboration across health tiers, and mobile health (mHealth) can be the cornerstone allowing for the adoption of IC. Objective This study aims to assess the acceptability, usability, and satisfaction of an mHealth-enabled IC model for complex chronic patients in both patients and health professionals. Methods As part of the CONNECARE Horizon 2020 project, a prospective, pragmatic, 2-arm, parallel, hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial was conducted from July 2018 to August 2019 in a rural region of Catalonia, Spain. Home-dwelling patients 55 years and older with chronic conditions and a history of hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or heart failure (use case [UC] 1), or a scheduled major elective hip or knee arthroplasty (UC2) were recruited. During the 3 months, patients experienced an mHealth-enabled IC model, including a self-management app for patients, a set of integrated sensors, and a web-based platform connecting professionals from different settings or usual care. The Person-Centered Coordinated Care Experience Questionnaire (P3CEQ) and the Nijmegen Continuity Questionnaire (NCQ) assessed person-centeredness and continuity of care. Acceptability was assessed for IC arm patients and staff with the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and the System Usability Scale (SUS). Results The analyses included 77 IC patients, 58 controls who completed the follow-up, and 30 health care professionals. The mean age was 78 (SD 9) years in both study arms. Perception of patient-centeredness was similarly high in both arms (usual care: mean P3CEQ score 16.1, SD 3.3; IC: mean P3CEQ score 16.3, SD 2.4). IC patients reported better continuity of care than controls (usual care: mean NCQ score 3.7, SD 0.9; IC: mean NCQ score 4.0, SD 1; P=.04). The scores for patient acceptability (UC1: NPS +67%; UC2: NPS +45%) and usability (UC1: mean SUS score 79, SD 14; UC2: mean SUS score 68, SD 24) were outstanding. Professionals’ acceptability was low (UC1: NPS −25%; UC2: NPS −35%), whereas usability was average (UC1: mean SUS score 63, SD 20; UC2: mean SUS score 62, SD 19). The actual use of technology was high; 77% (58/75) of patients reported physical activity for at least 60 days, and the ratio of times reported over times prescribed for other sensors ranged from 37% for oxygen saturation to 67% for weight. Conclusions The mHealth-enabled IC model showed outstanding results from the patients’ perspective in 2 different UCs but lacked maturity and integration with legacy systems to be fully accepted by professionals. This paper provides useful lessons learned through the development and assessment process and may be of use to organizations willing to develop or implement mHealth-enabled IC for older adults.

The volume of total hip (THA) and knee arthroplasties (TKA) performed in a hospital per year could be an influential factor on the revision of these procedures. The aims of this study were: To obtain comparable cohorts in higher- and lower-volume hospitals; and to assess the association between the hospital volume and the incidence of revision. Data from patients undergoing THA and TKA caused by osteoarthritis and recorded in the Catalan Arthroplasty Register (RACat) between January 2005 and December 2016 were used. The main explanatory variable was hospital volume by year (higher/lower). The cut-off point was fixed, based on previous research, at 50 THA and 125 TKA procedures/year. To obtain comparable populations, a propensity-score matching method (1:1) was used. Patient characteristics prior to and after matching were compared. To assess differences by volume, subhazard ratios (SHRs) from competing risks models were obtained. After matching, 13,772 THA and 36,316 TKA patients remained in the study. Prior to matching, in both joints, significant differences in all confounders were observed between volume groups. After matching, none of them remained significant. Both in THA and TKA, a higher risk of revision in higher-volume hospitals was observed (THA SHR: 1.25, 95%CI: 1.02–1.53; and TKA SHR: 1.29, 95%CI: 1.16–1.44). Unlike other contexts, currently in Catalonia, higher-volume hospitals have a greater risk of revision than lower-volume hospitals. Further research could be valuable to define context-dependent measures to reduce the incidence of revision.