International Summit Reaches Agreement: Patient Self-Referral to
Physiotherapy Improves Public Health
Leaders from 18 countries attending the International Policy Summit on Direct Access and Advanced Scope of Practice in Physical Therapy endorsed the results of research that clearly demonstrate that patient self-referral to physiotherapy is best for all health systems, whether public or private. Direct access and self-referral allows patients to access physiotherapy as their first choice for rehabilitation. A physician referral is not required.
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As co-host of the policy summit with the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the Canadian Physiotherapy Assocation (CPA) contributed evidence and key learnings to the summit deliberations. "We were able to share our successes", says
Access is an advocacy priority for the Canadian Physiotherapy Assocation. Through active participation on national initiatives and partnerships with other health organizations and physiotherapy stakeholders, CPA will strive to promote effective health human resources planning and innovative primary health models of service delivery to ensure that all Canadians have appropriate access to needed health services.(1) All Canadians deserve timely and reliable access to physiotherapy services regardless of venue.(1)
Early access to physiotherapy plays an important role in chronic disease prevention and control, keeping Canadians active and independent at work or returning to work and out of hospitals and long-term care facilities.(2),(3)
References: (1) Position Statement, Access to Physiotherapy Services. Canadian Physiotherapy Association, February 2006. (2) Cott, C.A., Devitt, R., Falter, L., Soever, L., & Wong, R. (2004) Adult rehabilitation and primary health care in Ontario. Arthritis Community Research & Evaluation Unit, University Health Network. (3) Pinnington, M.A., Miller, J., Stanley, I. (2004) An evaluation of prompt access to physiotherapy in the management of low back pain in primary care. Family Practice, 21 (4):472-480.
For further information: and interview, contact Virginia Bawlf, Media Relations Officer, Canadian Physiotherapy Association at (416) 932-1888, x222, (647) 379-4145 (cell), or [email protected].
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