RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 General practice based physiotherapy: its use and effect on referrals to hospital orthopaedics and rheumatology outpatient departments.
JF British Journal of General Practice
JO Br J Gen Pract
FD British Journal of General Practice
SP 352
OP 354
VO 45
IS 396
A1 A O'Cathain
A1 M Froggett
A1 M P Taylor
YR 1995
UL http://bjgp.org/content/45/396/352.abstract
AB BACKGROUND. In November 1992, a pilot scheme was established in Doncaster to provide an on-site physiotherapy service in six non-fundholding general practices covering a population of approximately 44,000 people. AIM. The aim of the pilot scheme was to transfer a hospital-based physiotherapy service, to which general practitioners had direct access, to a primary care setting and to reduce referrals to an orthopaedics outpatient department. METHOD. Use of physiotherapy services and referrals to orthopaedics and rheumatology before and during the first year of the scheme were monitored. Comparisons were made with data over the same time periods for general practices that were not in the scheme. The location of management of patients referred to physiotherapy was monitored for an eight-month period during the scheme. RESULTS. In the first year the scheme had a utilization rate of 31 per 1000 patients in the participating practices, representing a 164% increase over the hospital-based physiotherapy utilization rate for the year prior to the scheme. Eight per cent of physiotherapy patients received hospital-based treatment during the scheme. Changes in hospital outpatient referral rates attributable to the scheme were reductions of 8% to the orthopaedics department and 17% to the rheumatology department. CONCLUSION. The increase in the use of the physiotherapy service was possibly caused, in part, by general practitioners sending patients to on-site physiotherapy who previously would have been referred to orthopaedics and, largely, by an increase in the treatment of patients who previously would not have been referred to hospital. Physiotherapy based in general practice can be a substitute for hospital-based physiotherapy and can contribute to a reduction in referrals to orthopaedics and rheumatology outpatient departments. However, it can result in an increase in use of physiotherapy services.