TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Impact of the primary contact physiotherapy practitioner role on emergency department care for patients with musculoskeletal injuries in New South Wales
JO  - Emergency medicine Australasia
A1  - Alkhouri, Hatem
A1  - Maka, Katherine
A1  - Wong, Lilian
A1  - McCarthy, Sally
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of the emergency physiotherapy service provided through different models of care on service quality indicators, patient flow, staff and patient satisfaction. <br><br>METHOD: A mixed method prospective observation study was conducted between September 2014 and April 2015 in 19 EDs where a physiotherapy service is provided. <br><br>RESULTS: Patients seen by the primary contact physiotherapist (PCP) were associated with a significant reduction in ED length of stay by 108 min, wait time to treatment by 10 min (n = 4 EDs) and time-to-first analgesia by 18 min (n = 19 EDs) compared to those seen through usual care processes. Patients who received care by a doctor first and then physiotherapist (secondary contact model) had a prolonged length of stay compared to other care pathways. High levels of satisfaction with the PCP role were expressed by ED staff (n = 17 EDs) and patients (n = 19 EDs). More than 95% of patients who received care by PCP were satisfied with the management of their condition, understood the advice and discharge information provided and had enough time to ask questions. <br><br>CONCLUSION: ED implementation of the PCP model may improve patient flow and efficiency of clinical skill utilisation in a complex, high demand workplace.<br><br>© 2019 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1742-6731
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.13391
ID  - ref1
ER  -