Preview: CSM 2009
Back in November, ADVANCE ran a cover story on two Pennsylvania facilities conducting collaborative care clinics involving both physical therapists and physicians or family medicine residents to treat patients with musculoskeletal issues. One of the clinics' goals includes screening out clients with conditions not musculoskeletal-related so they can get appropriate care elsewhere.
"We can work with the family practice residents to screen out surgical cases or psychological cases or radiological cases prior to sending them to PT and spending more health care dollars," said Adam Hawk, MPT, CSCS, MDT, who works at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, PA. "We really want to try to make the system as smooth as possible."
So, the session at APTA's upcoming Combined Sections Meeting "Screening for Medical Conditions that May Present as Musculoskeletal Conditions in Physical Therapy Practice" sparked my interest. The speaker, Major Michael D Ross, PT, DHS, OCS, of Travis Air Force Base, CA, wants physical therapists to develop a clear understanding of how to appropriately screen for underlying medical conditions that can present as musculoskeletal issues. Upon completion of the course, attendees should be able to: efficiently screen for serious underlying medical conditions that can present as musculoskeletal conditions; describe pertinent patient history and physical examination findings that would necessitate medical evaluation and management that is outside the scope of physical therapy practice and describe and implement strategies that promote effective and efficient physician communication and referral.
Could clinics like the two we wrote about and therapists such as Major Ross be steering the profession to a new way of assessing musculoskeletal issues in patients? Should therapists start working with other health care professionals such as primary care physicians to get patients the care they need?