PTOTSurveyArchives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation2025

Evaluating Physical and Occupational Therapists' and Assistants' Experiences Implementing an Electronic Health Record-Based Intervention to Support Perioperative Patients' Use of Nonpharmacological Pain Management Techniques.

Jane T Hein, Sarah Redmond, Lina Daus and 3 others

PMID 40980520

WHAT IT FOUND

Therapists thought nonpharmacological pain techniques fit perioperative care, but rated the EHR banner, pop-up, and smart phrase 5.0 to 5.1 out of 10.

Only 27% said they had knowledge, skills, and resources for all 13 techniques.

Key findings

01Therapists rated their understanding of the initiative's goal 7.3, alignment with therapy standard of care 7.2, and alignment with surgical patients' needs and preferences 6.7.

02Therapists rated the helpfulness of the banner, pop-up, and smart phrase at the midpoint of the scale, with average ratings of 5.1, 5.0, and 5.1.

03About 27% of respondents said they had the knowledge, skills, and resources to educate patients on all nonpharmacological pain management modalities.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs

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What it does not show

Only 236 therapists responded, a 34.6% response rate, so the views may not represent the approximately 600 therapists who supported the trial. Rural sites responded at 51.33% and urban sites at 35.17%, so urban therapist views may be less represented. The survey measured therapist perceptions, not patient pain outcomes or whether nonpharmacological techniques were actually used. Because responses were anonymous, the team could not confirm that each therapist completed the survey only once. Therapists with strong feelings about the initiative may have been more likely to respond. Partially completed surveys were included, which may affect how complete the ratings are.

Declared interests

The investigators have no financial or nonfinancial disclosures to make in relation to this project.

The easy way to misread this

Do not conclude that the EHR-based intervention was effective or well supported. This is a survey of therapist perceptions, not a patient outcome study, and the banner, pop-up, and smart phrase were rated 5.0 to 5.1 on a 1 to 10 scale.

Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →