National Health Insurance interprofessional practice implementation in hand rehabilitation service delivery in South Africa.
Monique M Keller
PMID 38725966WHAT IT FOUND
This commentary describes the author's experience establishing an interprofessional hand rehabilitation team in a South African public hospital.
It outlines how physiotherapists and occupational therapists can collaborate using the ICF framework but reports no patient outcomes or evidence that this specific model improves function.
What this paper is
This is a commentary and service description outlining the roles of physiotherapists and occupational therapists in hand rehabilitation within the South African National Health Insurance context. It presents the author's personal experience and recommendations for interprofessional practice but reports no patient data, outcomes, or controlled trials. There are no findings here to change your clinical practice on.
What it does not show
The paper is a narrative commentary and personal account, not a research study with a defined methodology, control group, or outcome measures. The recommendations are based on the author's single-site experience in a South African public hospital and are not tested or validated. No data is provided on the number of patients treated, their diagnoses, or their functional outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declare that they received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the described interprofessional model as evidence-based practice that improves hand function. The paper reports no patient outcomes, so it cannot tell you whether this collaboration leads to better recovery than standard care.