GUIDELINES FOR THE INTELLIGENT RETURN TO PHYSIOTHERAPEUTIC OUTPATIENT PRACTICE IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

A. Munoz Garcia¹, K.M. Alvis Gomez², A. Campos del Cairo³, L. Cortes⁴, A. Espinosa L⁵, E. Sarmiento D⁶, M. Torres N⁷, E. Wilches L⁸

Background: In the framework of the COVID-19 Pandemic, in which health professionals and physiotherapists among them, had to make adjustments and adaptations of their practice to ensure the reduction of the risk of contagion and to be able to respond to new and high demands of specialized services, the physiotherapy trade associations at the national level, formulated the "Covid-19 Colombia Physiotherapy Strategy", seeking to respond to the needs of the population and to assure biosecurity conditions, especially labor, contractual issues, labor guarantees and salaries of physiotherapists nationwide. In this strategy, different working groups were defined, among them the Group related to the Outpatient Physiotherapy Service for Non-Covid conditions, an expert group in charge of formulating the guidelines for the intelligent return to the provision of these services to the general population. Group 2 of Colombia Physiotherapy Strategy, in charge of the outpatient services line, generated a document called “Intelligent return in Outpatient and Domiciliary Consultation”

Purpose: To guide, in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic, the general measures for care and biosafety that are recommended to be adopted in the Outpatient Consultation, Home Consultation and Digital Physiotherapy Practice, in order to reduce the risk of virus transmission, during the development of all its activities.

Methods: An analytical review type study was carried out on the concept and conditions of Outpatient Physiotherapy Practice. The documentary review and analysis included existing information at a global level of biosecurity and general conditions to could offer and assure de quality of  outpatient physiotherapy practice. A methodology of expert groups was carried out (Group 2 of Covid-19 Colombia Physiotherapy Strategy – Outpatient Care Practice), a  group of experts,  who analyzed the information and generated consensus over Outpatient Professional Practice Guidelines. The socialization was carried out with the participation of more than 300 participants; and finally, the publication of the document on the pages and networks of trade union organizations.

Results: The Guidelines were formulated, which include General Concepts of Outpatient Physiotherapy Care and Regulatory Framework, protocols for the care of users during the pre-admission, admission, care, exit and follow-up of the User, as well as for cleaning and disinfection, report of Suspicious users of COVID and waste management. The document also includes the conditions for the provision of home-based physical therapy, as well as for the provision of digital physical therapy services.

Conclusion(s): It is concluded that the Guidelines for Physiotherapy Outpatient Care in Colombia is a document of great help to ensure the minimum conditions for the provision of services and the biosecurity conditions that prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Implications: The guidelines and standards for the provision of outpatient physiotherapy service in Colombia are described.

Funding, acknowledgements: Asociación Colombiana de Fisioterapia
Colegio Colombiano de Fisioterapeutas
Asociación de Facultades de Fisioterapia
Asociación Colombiana de Estudiantes de Fisioterapia

Keywords: Outpatient Physiotherapy Practice, Physiotherapy Practice, COVID-19

Topic: COVID-19

Did this work require ethics approval? No

Institution: N/A

Committee: N/A

Reason: This work does not involve experimental or invasive methods,