Physician knowledge and utilization of physical therapy procedures.

Area of Science:

• Physical Therapy
• Medical Education
• Physician Referral Practices

Background:

• Physician understanding and use of physical therapy (PT) are crucial for effective patient care.
• Variations in physician knowledge and referral patterns may impact the integration of PT services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate physician knowledge and utilization of physical therapy procedures.
• To identify factors influencing these knowledge and utilization patterns.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was distributed to 600 physicians across neurology, orthopedic surgery, and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) specialties in the US.
• Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, student's t-tests, and chi-square statistics to compare knowledge and utilization scores based on specialty, region, and years in practice.

Main Results:

• PM&R specialists and physicians with over 10 years of practice demonstrated the highest knowledge of PT procedures.
• Physicians generally preferred a prescriptive referral relationship, favoring "technical" PT procedures over "professional" ones.
• Experienced physicians (≥10 years) exhibited more conservative referral preferences compared to newer practitioners (<10 years).

Conclusions:

• Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists possess superior knowledge of physical therapy.
• Physician referral patterns suggest a gap in understanding the broader professional scope of physical therapy, highlighting a need for targeted educational interventions.