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Directe toegankelijkheid fysiotherapie vanuit het perspectief van de fysiotherapeut.

Bossen, D., Swinkels, I.C.S., Leemrijse, C.J., Veenhof, C. Directe toegankelijkheid fysiotherapie vanuit het perspectief van de fysiotherapeut. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Fysiotherapie: 2011, 121(4), p. 190-197.
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Direct access physical therapy: from the perspective of physical therapists

Objective

Since 2006 Dutch physical therapists are accessible without referral by a physician (direct access). Research into the experiences with direct access are lacking. Therefore, it was investigated:1) what the experiences
of physical therapists with direct access were; 2) how
the screening process is being organised and evaluated; 3) how cooperation with Genera[ Practitioners (GP's) being evaluated and 4) what consequences for practice management are being experienced.

Methods

A questionnaire, based on results from literature and interviews, was sent toa sample of 800 physical therapists in primary care in April 2009. Descriptive statistics were used for answering the research questions. Subgroup analyses were used to test differences according to therapists' age, gender and function.

Results

The response rate was 58% In= 436]. Most therapists
had positive experiences; increased acknowledgement
of the profession was most mentioned (67%). Negative experiences were increased administrative burden and an increase of referred patients without referral letter. Most therapists believe they have sufficient knowledge and experiences for conducting screenings. A quarter of the therapists did not report the outcome of their examination to the GP. Therapists who do report to GPs qualify the communication as moderate. Mainly GPs' assistants and sport clubs gained amore important role in patient referral to physical therapy.

Conclusion

The mainly positive experiences in this study reveal that physical therapists are satisfied with the introduction of direct access. According to the therapists direct access has resulted in increased acknowledgement of the profession. However, there is a need to address awareness of difficulties in the cooperation with GPs and time scheme of the screening.