Communication with patients and colleagues in rehabilitation process: needs, expectations and responsibility of the orthopedic surgeons

The aim of the study is to elicit orthopedic surgeons' needs, expectations and responsibility concerning communication with their patients in rehabilitation period. Material and Methods - A sociological research was conducted in the form of in-person survey and included 41orthopedic surgeons of one of six specialized scientific and medical orthopedic centers in the European part of Russia. Results - The performed study has shown that 39% of respondents admit that the hospital having provided the surgery should get the information about patients' further rehabilitation throughout the first 6 months after it while 41.5% offer more prolonged period - one year after the surgery. Positive attitude to communication with patients and colleagues in postoperative period to exchange the current results of clinical and introscopic examinations is demonstrated by 87.8% of interviewed specialists. Among the distant ways of communication, the most preferable are messengers and phone conversations (average ranking place - 3.8 out of 7), the least preferable are social networks (average ranking place -4.9 out of 7). Conclusion - On the basis of the conducted study the orthopedic surgeons' understanding of the necessity to be informed about the rehabilitation process after the surgery and to be ready to use different ways of distant communication has been discovered. Nevertheless, the probable obstacle in Russia for the introduction of feedback practice from patients during rehabilitation period are exceeding workload of orthopedic surgeons and their disinclination to involve regional nurses and social carers in rehabilitation process support.