New rural health research involving UCRH Professor Chris Williams has explored how patients, clinicians and health service managers view physiotherapist-led care for people presenting to emergency departments with uncomplicated musculoskeletal conditions.
Published in Australasian Emergency Care, the study, Stakeholder Views on Enhancing Emergency Department Service through Physiotherapist-led Care: A Qualitative Study, was conducted as part of the RESHAP-ED trial across five Australian emergency departments.
Researchers interviewed 47 clinicians and 33 patients about their experiences and views of physiotherapist-led care.
Patients reported high satisfaction with the model, including timely access to care, shorter waiting times, clear communication and care tailored to their needs.
Clinicians also saw benefits, reporting that physiotherapist-led care could improve efficiency and teamwork while allowing doctors and nurses to focus on patients with more urgent and complex needs. Health service managers identified potential benefits for patient flow and emergency department performance.
The research also highlighted what would be needed to make the model sustainable, including greater awareness of the physiotherapist’s role, clear scopes of practice, planned workforce allocation and dedicated funding.
Professor Williams was among the study’s co-authors.
