Characteristics of leaders and laggards in implementation and de-implementation (n=86)
| Implementation of medication guidelines | Implementation of referral guidelines | De-implementation of low value blood management practices | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leaders† (n=33) | Laggards (n=53) | Leaders‡ (n=14) | Laggards (n=72) | Leaders§ (n=35) | Laggards (n=51) | |
| Age in years (mean, SD) | 45.6 (6.4)* | 50.0 (7.4)* | 45.8 (6.1) | 48.8 (7.5) | 47.3 (7.2) | 49.0 (7.4) |
| Men, n (%) | 29 (87.9) | 52 (98.1) | 12 (85.7) | 69 (95.8) | 32 (91.4) | 49 (96.1) |
| Years working as orthopaedic surgeon (mean, SD) | 10.1 (6.0)* | 14.6 (7.5)* | 9.7 (4.8)* | 13.6 (7.5)* | 11.9 (6.6) | 13.6 (7.6) |
| New patients with primary hip OA seen per month (mean, SD) | 23.4 (20.3) | 24.9 (20.4) | 33.5 (27.5) | 22.6 (18.3) | 23.2 (21.0) | 25.1 (19.9) |
| New patients with primary knee OA seen per month (mean, SD) | 33.3 (20.7) | 27.3 (20.5) | 47.8 (31.7)* | 26.1 (15.7)* | 26.9 (16.8) | 31.5 (22.9) |
| Setting, n (%) | ||||||
| General hospital/private clinic/other | 19 (57.6) | 28 (52.8) | 5 (35.7) | 42 (58.3) | 17 (48.6) | 30 (58.8) |
| University medical centre/teaching hospital | 14 (42.4) | 25 (47.2) | 9 (64.3) | 30 (41.7) | 18 (51.4) | 21 (41.2) |
| My own clinical experience is more reliable than outcomes of randomised controlled trials, n (%) | 1 (3.1) | 4 (7.7) | 0 (0)* | 5 (7.0)* | 0 (0)* | 5 (10.2)* |
*p<0.05.
†Orthopaedic surgeons who use both acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in most patients with hip and knee OA.
‡Orthopaedic surgeons who refer most patients with hip and knee OA to physical therapy and dietician (if indicated).§Orthopaedic surgeons who do not use CS and EPO in most primary hip and knee arthroplasties.
CS, cell salvage; EPO, erythropoietin; OA, osteoarthritis.