Healthcare Policy

Healthcare Policy 16(2) November 2020 : 101-110.doi:10.12927/hcpol.2020.26350
Research Paper

Rheumatologists’ Acceptance of Patient Referrals from Physical Therapists

Debbie Ehrmann Feldman, Michel Zummer, Tatiana Orozco, Jonathan El-Khoury, François Desmeules, Maude Laliberté, Kadija Perreault, Roland Grad, Linda Woodhouse and Sasha Bernatsky

Abstract

We surveyed Canadian rheumatologists regarding beliefs about physical therapists' (PTs) ability to refer patients appropriately to rheumatologists and whether they would accept such referrals. Most (86.9%) believed that PTs can appropriately refer to rheumatologists. However, only 48.2% of rheumatologists would be very or extremely likely to accept a referral from a PT they knew, and 23.5% would accept a referral from a PT they did not know. Conversely, 90.5% would accept a referral from a PT if they could bill it as a full consult. We conclude that being able to bill PT referrals as full consults may potentially enhance the acceptance of PT referrals.

 

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