Follow-up telephone calls to patients discharged after undergoing orthopaedic surgery: double-blind, randomised controlled trial of efficacy

275 patients who underwent low to moderate intensity orthopaedic surgery were randomized to receive or not receive an educational telephone follow-up call after hospital discharge. The purpose of the study was to determine if a telephone follow-up benefited patient recovery compared to standard care protocols by reducing the number of health and self-care problems encountered. Telephone follow-up was found to reduce the frequency and intensity of post-discharge problems overall, but had no significant effect on problems regarding pain and mobility. There was no difference between groups in post-discharge use of health services, and while patient satisfaction was similar for overall quality and clarity of provided information, patients who received a telephone follow-up reported that the information given to them had greater value.