Article

Previous literature has not fully described physical therapists'
management of patients across diagnoses in the acute care setting or how that
management might vary by facility. OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to
describe patient management by physical therapists in the acute care setting and
to examine variations in patient management across facilities. DESIGN: This was
an observational study. METHODS: Fifty clinicians practicing at 3 academic
medical centers in the northeastern United States agreed to participate. Over a
2-week period, clinicians completed checklists indicating the details of patient
visits. Logistic analyses, controlling for patient age and diagnosis and
accounting for clustering of data, were conducted to examine the odds of patients
having several categories of examinations, goals, and interventions. RESULTS:
Participants provided 2,364 visits to 896 patients. More than 75% of patients in
each facility received examinations, goals, and interventions related to
functional ability. Median number of visits per patient, duration of visits, and
number of visits in which the patient was not treated varied across facilities.
Patients with orthopedic conditions were more likely than those with
medical/surgical conditions to receive several types of examinations, goals, and
interventions. The odds of patients having examinations, goals, and interventions
related to functional abilities were greater in facility 2 than in facility 1.
LIMITATIONS: Limitations include the convenience sample, use of an untested data
collection tool, and use of only age and diagnosis to control for case mix.
CONCLUSION: This study of physical therapist practice in 3 acute care facilities
suggests that patient management focuses on functional activity. There was no
clear pattern of examinations, goals, and interventions related to specific
diagnoses. A small degree of variation was found in practice across the
facilities.

Langue : ANGLAIS