Evaluation of an education program on the management of rheumatic diseases for physical therapists

An educational program on the management of rheumatic diseases was developed for physical therapists. It was community based and designed to measure changes in patient care and physician behavior in the utilization of physical therapy services. Substantial changes in the utilization of physical therapy services were documented in 3 intervention communities, but not in control communities. In patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty, there was a 1.8 day reduction in the hospitalization, significant increases in the use of preoperative physical therapy and a shift in the use of walking aids. These data suggest that physical therapists can play an important role in physician and patient education, and this may result in lower costs and improved outcomes.