Working together: the family physician and the physiotherapist

The present-day demands on the physician require him to delegate increasing responsibility to allied health professionals. To meet this need, more and more physiotherapists are taking advantage of the opportunity for graduate education. The authors point out that in Ontario about two-fifths of all practicing physiotherapists work in general hospitals, where they may treat patients referred by family physicians. They describe the mutual expectations family physicians and the physiotherapists might have of each other, indicating some ways in which a good working relationship can be established. They also suggest some factors which might jeopardize that relationship, leading to ineffective and costly patient care.