Blackburn Meagan S, Cowan Sallie M, Cary Belinda, Nall Cathy
Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Aust Health Rev. 2009 Nov;33(4):663-70. doi: 10.1071/ah090663.
The aims of this study were to evaluate a physiotherapy-led triage clinic (PLTC) and investigate general practitioner satisfaction with the PLTC. A retrospective cohort study was undertaken from January to December 2005 at a Melbourne tertiary teaching hospital. Outcomes assessed included waiting times to first appointment, patient attendance and surgery conversion rates. Outcomes were compared with the hospital 2002 benchmark data. GP satisfaction was evaluated by a survey. One-hundred and five new patients attended the PLTC clinic during the evaluation period. Patients waited 9 weeks for a PLTC appointment compared with 26 weeks for the general orthopaedic clinic and 23 weeks for the spinal orthopaedic clinic. Sixty-seven percent of the patients triaged in the PLTC were discharged from the orthopaedic outpatient department without requiring an orthopaedic surgeon consultation. Referring GPs were at least as satisfied with the management of their patients through the PLTC as with usual management in the general orthopaedic clinic. A PLTC can significantly reduce waiting times for orthopaedic outpatient appointments in a public hospital. Many patients can be managed by these experienced physiotherapists and their GPs, without the need for face-to-face contact with an orthopaedic surgeon. Pilot results indicated that GPs whose patients are managed in this PLTC were satisfied with this model for their patients with low back conditions.
本研究旨在评估由物理治疗师主导的分诊诊所（PLTC），并调查全科医生对PLTC的满意度。2005年1月至12月在墨尔本一家三级教学医院进行了一项回顾性队列研究。评估的结果包括首次预约的等待时间、患者就诊率和手术转化率。将结果与该医院2002年的基准数据进行比较。通过一项调查评估全科医生的满意度。在评估期间，105名新患者前往PLTC诊所就诊。PLTC预约患者等待9周，而普通骨科诊所为26周，脊柱骨科诊所为23周。在PLTC进行分诊的患者中有67%从骨科门诊部出院，无需骨科医生会诊。转诊的全科医生对通过PLTC对其患者的管理至少与对普通骨科诊所的常规管理一样满意。PLTC可以显著缩短公立医院骨科门诊预约的等待时间。许多患者可以由这些经验丰富的物理治疗师及其全科医生进行管理，而无需与骨科医生进行面对面接触。初步结果表明，其患者在该PLTC接受管理的全科医生对这种针对腰痛患者的模式感到满意。
