ArticleInternational journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care2021
Extended roles in primary care when physiotherapist-initiated referral to X-ray can save time and reduce costs.
Article in International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Economic evaluation of advanced practice physiotherapy models of care: a systematic review with meta-analyses.BMC health services research · 2021Pooled it
- Physiotherapists as first-contact practitioners for patients with low back pain in French primary care: a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial.BMC health services research · 2024Trial
- Defining a theoretical framework for a quality referral at the primary-secondary care interface: a systematic scoping review with qualitative content analysis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- The value of integrating physical therapists into primary care, including patient outcomes and health care costs: a scoping review.Physical therapy · 2026Article
- Advancing first-contact, primary care physiotherapist practice: the value of integrating point-of-care diagnostic tools.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2025Article
- Physical therapist awareness of diagnostic imaging referral jurisdictional scope of practice: an observational study.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2024Observational
- Who Does What in Hand Osteoarthritis Care? A Qualitative Study of Boundary Work Between Rheumatologists and Occupational Therapists in Norway.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- Effectiveness and Consequences of Direct Access in Physiotherapy: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Physical Therapists Are Routinely Performing the Requisite Skills to Directly Refer for Musculoskeletal Imaging: An Observational Study.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2022Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate an extended role for the physiotherapist in primary care in referring patients to plain X-ray.
methodsThis prospective cohort study was set in a single region in Sweden. It included 20 physiotherapists who were educated in a 1-day training in performing referral to X-ray, along with 107 patients with musculoskeletal disorders who were referred to X-ray. We evaluated referral quality and patient and physiotherapist satisfaction and calculated healthcare and patient costs.
resultsAll referrals fulfilled the basic requirements of quality, and 78% were classified as good, fulfilling all criteria. Both patients and physiotherapists were satisfied with the extended role for the physiotherapist that decreased the waiting time to diagnosis and to adequate treatment. Costs were reduced for patients (by €53/patient) and healthcare (by €6286.2/107 patients). The cost to visit a physician was twice that of a physiotherapist visit.
conclusionsAn extended role for physiotherapists in primary care in referring patients to X-ray was effective and safe for patients and reduced costs for patients and for healthcare. Physiotherapists in primary care were able to refer patients to X-ray after a 1 day of training, and the extended role freed up 45 min of physician time for each patient with a musculoskeletal disorder in need of an X-ray.
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Registered trials
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