Physical Therapists Are Routinely Performing the Requisite Skills to Directly Refer for Musculoskeletal Imaging: An...

Area of Science:

• Musculoskeletal imaging
• Physical therapy practice

Background:

• Direct access to physical therapy allows for patient referrals for imaging.
• Assessing physical therapists' (PTs) proficiency in musculoskeletal imaging referral skills is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if physical therapists possess the necessary skills for musculoskeletal imaging referrals.
• To evaluate the current practice patterns of PTs regarding these referral skills.

Main Methods:

• An expert panel identified nine essential skills for musculoskeletal imaging referral.
• A blinded panel validated these skills using a Likert scale.
• An electronic survey assessed skill performance among 4,796 US physical therapists.

Main Results:

• A majority of PTs routinely performed each of the nine skills (54.52-94.72%).
• Respondents routinely performed an average of 6.95 skills, with 67.41% performing seven or more.
• Doctors of physical therapy, residency/fellowship-trained, board-certified, and APTA members demonstrated higher skill performance.

Conclusions:

• Physical therapists are proficient in the skills required for direct musculoskeletal imaging referrals.
• The findings support the integration of PTs in the diagnostic imaging pathway.