Pattern of Orthopaedicians Referral for Physiotherapy in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A preliminary report

Orthopaedic surgeons are considered to be the primary source of referral for physiotherapy services. It is believed that the referring physician should have adequate knowledge regarding physiotherapy. Physiotherapy is a dynamic profession in the present era and is marching towards autonomy. In the current scenario clinical decision making regarding therapy should not be dictated by other health care professionals.

In this context, the present study was designed to assess the reference pattern by orthopaedic surgeons in a tertiary care hospital. As per our knowledge this is the first study in the Indian setup designed to explore this important issue.

In this Descriptive Study, The referral forms of the patients referred to the outpatient department of physiotherapy, Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore from January to March 2009 were retrospectively analyzed for the following criteria: Number of cases referred for physiotherapy, Pattern of referral, diagnosis of the referring surgeon, and the Surgeon's preference of the modality of treatment.

This report analyzed 184 referral forms, with various musculoskeletal disorders. There were marked differences between the orthopaedic surgeons in prescribing physical modalities. Reference for technical procedures was much more than professional modes of therapy.

This preliminary report emphasizes that the therapists should involve themselves in inter-professional discussion in order to improve knowledge of physical therapy procedures among referring surgeons.