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Desmeules F.1,2, Matifat E.1,2, Gagné M.-P.1, Léveillé M.-A.1, Perreault K.3,4
1University of Montréal, School of Rehabilitation, Montréal, Canada, 2Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Center, University of Montréal Affiliated Research Center, Montréal, Canada, 3Laval University, Departement of Rehabilitation, Québec, Canada, 4Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), Québec, Canada
Background: In an effort to reduce health costs and improve access to health care, new models of care implicating extended scope of practice for physiotherapists have emerged. Since June 2015, two professional colleges, the Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec (OPPQ), in collaboration with the Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec (OPQ) developed a new interprofessional model of care in the province of Québec (Canada). This new model is designed to guide, in collaboration with pharmacists, non-prescription drugs recommendations by physiotherapists treating patients in primary care with neuromusculoskeletal disorders.
Purpose: To assess Québec physiotherapists' interest to use this new interprofessional model of care in their practice and explore their opinions concerning their ability to recommend non-prescription drugs to patients in primary care with neuromusculoskeletal disorders.
Methods: An email invitation to complete an electronic survey was sent in February 2016 to all registered OPPQ physiotherapists. The questionnaire included 31 questions divided into five sections: 1-demographic and practice characteristics of respondents; 2-knowledge of the pharmacists-physiotherapists new model of care; 3-opinion of the physiotherapists regarding the standardized drug recommendation forms used to communicate with pharmacists; 4-perceived benefits of physiotherapists role in medication recommendation; and 5-perceived capabilities of the physiotherapists to safely and efficiently use this model. Response frequencies, means and standard deviations were calculated and Chi-square tests were used to compare differences in proportions in relation to demographics and practice characteristics of the respondents. Spearman correlations were also used to determine associations between respondents characteristics and answers to selected questions.
Results: Of the 4961 eligible members, 225 physiotherapists completed the online survey for a 4.5% response rate. Of these respondents, 69.7% had knowledge of the pharmacists-physiotherapists model of care, but only 15.0% had previously used the model of care in their practice. One of the major reasons mentioned by the respondents for this lack of use was the perceived workload increase in using the standardized forms (50.9%). The majority of the respondents (62.7%) had a positive perception of this new model of care. Most of the respondents (66.3%) were confident regarding their ability to incorporate this model in their practice, but in opposition, 62.7% believed that further training in pharmacologic treatments was necessary to enable physiotherapists in this extended professional role to provide efficient and safe care to patients.
Conclusion(s): Respondents have a positive perception of the pharmacists-physiotherapists model of care, but at the time of this study, only a small proportion of them integrated the model in their practice. A majority of respondents believe that more training is required regarding pharmacologic treatments.
Implications: Physiotherapists can play a key role in primary care settings regarding medication recommendations or, in the future, for autonomous drug prescription. This model of care may be a first step towards a more autonomous role of Québec physiotherapists in the care of patients with neuromusculoskeletal disorders. A greater promotion of this model of care and exploring new ways to integrate this model into Québec physiotherapists practice is warranted to increase its use.
Funding acknowledgements: F. Desmeules CRHMR new investigator funds
Topic: Primary health care
Ethics approval: This project was approved by the Health Research Ethic Committee of the University of Montréal (15-135-CERES-D), Montréal, Québec, Canada.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
