Patient experience of expanded-scope-of-practice musculoskeletal physiotherapy in the emergency department: a qualitative study.

Conclusions Participants from both settings described their experience in positive terms, reflecting satisfaction with their management by an expanded scope of practice musculoskeletal physiotherapist. What is known about the topic? To date, the literature evaluating expanded scope of practice by physiotherapists (or advanced musculoskeletal physiotherapy services) has consistently reported positive participant satisfaction. Participant satisfaction has been typically restricted to the use of standardised questionnaires. What does this paper add? To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the participant experience and perception of being seen by an expanded-scope-of-practice physiotherapist. The study found that the perceptions of participants from two vastly different geographic locations were remarkably similar and that participants were very receptive to seeing a physiotherapist instead of a doctor. The emergent themes highlight what is important to people when they attend the ED and indicate that participants seen by a musculoskeletal physiotherapist had a positive experience regardless of whether it was in a metropolitan or remote hospital. What are the implications for practitioners? Patient-centred care should be an underlying principle of all models of service delivery in healthcare. Understanding what is important to patients is imperative to ensure they have a positive experience, particularly when new models of service are being introduced. This study p...
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research