Involvement of Acute Care Physical Therapists in Care Transitions for Older Adults Following Acute Hospitalization: A Cross-sectional National Survey.
Jason R Falvey, Robert E Burke, Kyle J Ridgeway and 3 others
PMID 29533283WHAT IT FOUND
Acute care physical therapists reported strong involvement in discharge planning, but communication with post-acute and outpatient providers was rare.
Many said contacting patients or other therapists did not count as productive time.
Key findings
01More than 95% routinely provided written discharge recommendations and durable medical equipment recommendations, but most did not prepare a formal discharge summary.
02Under one-third of respondents routinely initiated communication with post-acute care therapists or other clinical staff, and nearly 96% reported requests for patient information were rarely initiated by post-acute care therapists.
03Most respondents disagreed that contacting patients, contacting other physical therapists in different settings, or preparing physical therapy discharge summaries would be considered productive time.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only members active on an acute care PT discussion board were invited, so respondents may be more motivated or engaged than typical acute care PTs. The response rate was 21%, and 18 respondents were excluded after completing only demographics. The survey reports perceptions and self-reported frequency, not chart data or patient outcomes. It was underpowered to compare responses by demographics or facility characteristics. Shared computers may have allowed multiple submissions, although no identical entries were found.
Declared interests
Jason Falvey and Kyle Ridgeway receive royalty payments from Medbridge Education for continuing education coursework on hospital readmissions. The article lists NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that poor PT communication causes readmissions. This survey measured therapist self-reported practices and perceptions, not patient outcomes or readmission rates.