Decision-making ability of physical therapists: physical therapy intervention or medical referral

Opponents of direct access to physical therapy argue that physical therapists may overlook serious medical conditions. More information is needed to determine the ability of physical therapists to practice safely in direct-access environments. The purpose of this study was to describe the ability of physical therapists to make decisions about the management of patients in a direct-access environment.

Of a random sample of 1,000 members of the Private Practice Section of the American Physical Therapy Association, 394 participated.

A survey included 12 hypothetical case scenarios. For each case, participants determined whether they would provide intervention without referral, provide intervention and refer, or refer before intervention. The percentage of correct decisions for each group of scenarios was calculated for each participant, and participants were classified as having made correct decisions for 100% of cases or less for each group. Three sets of logistic regressions were completed to determine the characteristics of the participants in relation to the decision category.

The average percentages of correct decisions were 87%, 88%, and 79% for musculoskeletal, noncritical medical, and critical medical conditions, respectively. Of all participants, approximately 50% made correct decisions for all cases within each group. The odds of making 100% correct decisions if a physical therapist had an orthopedic specialization were 2.23 (95% confidence interval=1.35-3.71) for musculoskeletal conditions and 1.89 (95% confidence interval=1.14-3.15) for critical medical conditions.

Physical therapists with an orthopedic specialization were almost twice as likely to make correct decisions for critical medical and musculoskeletal conditions.