General information to help you prepare for a conversation with your clinician.
Imagine it’s Friday evening. Your surgery was earlier in the week, and something in the instructions has you unsure. You have the hospital’s main number, a portal login and a stack of papers. Which one gets you to your surgical team?
That question is easier to settle before the operation. At the preoperative visit, ask someone to show you exactly how to reach the team once you’re home.
Save the route, as well as the number
The AAOS patient guide for hip and knee replacement recommends asking whom to contact after surgery and how to reach them. Ask about office hours and evenings separately. If a call goes to an answering service, find out how you request the on-call team.
Save those instructions in a phone note you can find quickly. If someone is helping you recover, show them where it is. You can also keep the discharge paperwork beside it.
Ask what happens when nobody calls back
A message sent is only the first step. Ask the office what to do if you haven’t heard back, which questions belong in the portal and when you should call instead. Ask the team to explain which symptoms require immediate attention and which need emergency services. For an emergency, call 911.
You don’t have to invent a list of every possible problem. You need the specific instructions for your procedure, explained in words you understand.
Make the question easy to answer
When you contact the office, it helps to have your procedure and surgery date handy. Say what changed, when you noticed it and which instruction you need clarified. If you were given a plan earlier, explain what is still unclear.
For example, you might say, “My discharge sheet and the handout from the clinic give different dates for my first therapy appointment. Which date should I follow, and who is booking it?” That is a scheduling question the team can resolve without you having to guess.
Leave with a contact plan you can use
Before you go home, check the daytime contact, after-hours contact, urgent instructions and follow-up appointment. Ask who is arranging any outstanding referral. If the plan changes, update your note.
It’s a small piece of preparation. When you’re tired and trying to remember what someone said at discharge, having the right route already saved gives you one less thing to figure out.
What did we miss?
Suggest a question for a future post. Keep it general; please don’t email scans or personal medical information.
Source
AAOS questions to ask before hip or knee replacement