Comprehensive preoperative optimization, delivered via the artificial intelligence (AI) platform PreHab, improved hospital length of stay, discharge disposition, and skilled nursing avoidance for patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery, PeerWell notes in a recent study.

According to the large, retrospective study, published in Annals of Translational Medicine, pre-operative education (PreHab)—delivered in person by a physical therapist—was associated with a reduction in surgery costs of $1,215.

In addition, among those patients who used PreHab, their lengths of stay decreased 25% and their home discharge rate increased 80%, according to PeerWell in a media release.

PeerWell’s platform uses patient data to create personalized daily plans to get patients ready for surgery. Plans include video physical therapy, nutrition counseling, comprehensive anxiety management and pain resilience training, home preparation guidance and medical risk management.

By using machine learning, PeerWell can also glean clinically relevant data from ordinary smartphones. For example, using the accelerometer and gyroscope, PeerWell can track range of motion or by using the smartphone camera, PeerWell can identify trip and fall hazards in the home, the release explains.

“We’ve seen consistent results at sites across the United States that prove PeerWell PreHab works,” says PeerWell CEO Manish Shah. “Not only do we know PeerWell works to improve surgery success and recovery, we know that the improvements it delivers in length of stay and discharge disposition add up to a significant cost savings.”

“Our ability to do this without increasing administrative burden to the provider has made PeerWell the preferred solution to manage musculoskeletal health,” Shah adds. “We’ve created tele-prehab and tele-rehab programs for all major orthopaedic procedures and see consistent improvements in patient outcomes across the board.”

[Source(s): PeerWell, PR Newswire]