Trial reportBMC health services research2016
The acceptability to patients of PhysioDirect telephone assessment and advice services; a qualitative interview study.
Trial report in BMC health services research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- The utility of physiotherapy assessments delivered by telehealth: A systematic review.Journal of global health · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The feasibility of delivering and evaluating stratified care integrated with telehealth ('Rapid Stratified Telehealth') for patients with low back pain: a feasibility and pilot randomised controlled trial.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Trial
- Patients' experiences of a Virtual Fracture Assessment Clinic Pathway: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2025Article
- [Remote management of musculoskeletal pain : A pragmatic approach to the implementation of video and phone consultations in musculoskeletal practice. German version].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2023Review
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- Patient Perceptions and Satisfaction With Virtual Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2023Article
- Article
- Validation of a Musculoskeletal Digital Assessment Routing Tool: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Crossover Noninferiority Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2021Article
- "Chiropractic is manual therapy, not talk therapy": a qualitative analysis exploring perceived barriers to remote consultations by chiropractors.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2021Article
- A qualitative investigation into the results of a discrete choice experiment and the impact of COVID-19 on patient preferences for virtual consultations.Archives of physiotherapy · 2021Article
- Factors that influence patient preferences for virtual consultations in an orthopaedic rehabilitation setting: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2021Article
- A telephone assessment and advice service within an ED physiotherapy clinic: a single-site quality improvement cohort study.Archives of physiotherapy · 2021Article
- Perceptions of Telehealth Physical Therapy Among Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain.Telemedicine reports · 2021Article
- Rapid implementation of virtual clinics due to COVID-19: report and early evaluation of a quality improvement initiative.BMJ open quality · 2020Article
- Article
- Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn response to long waiting lists and problems with access to primary care physiotherapy, several Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) (now Clinical Commissioning Groups CCGs) developed physiotherapy-led telephone assessment and treatment services. The Medical Research Council (MRC) funded PhysioDirect trial was a randomised control trial (RCT) in four PCTs, with a total of 2252 patients that compared this approach with usual physiotherapy care. This nested qualitative study aimed to explore the acceptability of the PhysioDirect telephone assessment and advice service to patients with musculoskeletal conditions.
methodsWe conducted 57 semi-structured interviews with adults from 4 PCTs who were referred from general practice to physiotherapy with musculoskeletal conditions and were participating in the PhysioDirect trial. The Framework method was used to analyse the qualitative data.
resultsThe PhysioDirect service was largely viewed as acceptable although some saw it as a first step to subsequent face-to-face physiotherapy. Most participants found accessing the PhysioDirect service straightforward and smooth, and they valued the faster access to physiotherapy advice offered by the telephone service. Participants generally viewed both the PhysioDirect service and the physiotherapists providing the service as helpful. Participants' preferences and priorities for treatment defined the acceptable features of PhysioDirect but the acceptable features were traded off against less acceptable features. Some participants felt that the PhysioDirect service was impersonal and impaired the development of a good relationship with their physiotherapist, which made the service feel remote and less valuable.
conclusionThe PhysioDirect service was broadly acceptable to participants since it provided faster access to physiotherapy advice for their musculoskeletal conditions. Participants felt that it is best placed as one method of accessing physiotherapy services, in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, more traditional face-to-face physiotherapy assessment and treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.