A Patient Education Video Program for Post-Operative Recovery After Upper Extremity Surgery

Four hundred (400) adult patients undergoing elective outpatient, upper extremity, orthopedic surgeries will be recruited by the surgeon-investigators. Patients will be randomized to view one of two educational programs: 1) a 2-video series regarding post-operative pain management or 2) a video regarding wound care and activity. These patients will be encouraged to review the video online in the week before surgery. An intake enrollment form will be completed by an investigator using demographic information available in the chart. Participants in both arms will complete their Patient Education Study Diary daily, for 7 days following their surgery. There are two versions of this diary: the Wound Education Version asks patients to report daily pain mediation use. The Pain Education Version does not include this section as patients in the pain management arm of the study record this information in their Recovery Diary. The patient will be contacted again by phone and/or mail 1 year after surgery (12-14 months) using the contact information available in EPIC to determine the self-reported prevalence of chronic pain and pain medication use.