Article

The aim of this study was to describe the current patterns of service
delivery of Canadian physiotherapy (PT) professionals working in adult
musculoskeletal (MSK) outpatient practice. Methods:
A total of 846 Canadian PT
professionals working with an adult MSK outpatient clientele participated in an
online survey about how they would treat a patient with low back pain (LBP).
After reading an online clinical vignette about a fictional patient with varying
insurance status, participants answered questions about how they would treat the
patient (e.g., wait time, frequency and duration of treatment, time allotted for
initial evaluation and treatment), about their actual practice (e.g., number of
patients seen per day), and about their work setting. Results: The vignette
patients with LBP would typically be seen within 2 weeks, especially in private
practice, and most would receive care 2-3 times per week for 1-3 months. Initial
evaluations and subsequent treatments would take 31-60 minutes. Two-thirds of
participants reported treating 6-15 patients a day in their current practice
setting. Differences were found between provinces and territories (with the
longest wait time in Quebec), practice settings (with a longer wait time in the
public sector), and insurance status (patients covered by workers' compensation
are seen more frequently). Conclusion: This study adds to our knowledge of the
accessibility of outpatient MSK PT services for patients with LBP in Canada, and
it points to potential areas for improvement.

Langue : ANGLAIS