Physical Therapists Are Routinely Performing the Requisite Skills to Directly Refer for Musculoskeletal Imaging: An Observational Study

• Published in: The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy 2022-09, Vol.30 (5), p.261-272
• Main Authors: Mabry, Lance M., Severin, Richard, Gisselman, Angela S., Ross, Michael D., Davenport, Todd E., Young, Brian A., Keil, Aaron P., Goss, Don L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: certification; educational status; Fellowships and Scholarships; Humans; Internship and Residency; Medical imaging; nonmedical residency; patient education; Physical Therapists; Physical Therapy Modalities; referral and consultation; Surveys and Questionnaires; triage; United States
• ISSN: 1066-9817; 2042-6186
• DOI: 10.1080/10669817.2022.2106729

To explore if physical therapists are practicing skills necessary to refer patients for musculoskeletal imaging. An expert panel established a list of nine requisite skills to refer for musculoskeletal imaging. A blinded expert panel validated the list using a 5-point Likert scale. The skills list was examined via an electronic survey distributed to United States physical therapists. 4,796 respondents were included. Each of the nine skills were routinely performed by a majority of the respondents (range: 54.52-94.72%). Respondents routinely performed 6.95 (± 0.06) skills, with 67.41% routinely performing seven or more skills. Doctors of physical therapy routinely performed more imaging skills (7.15 ± 0.06) compared to their masters- (6.44 ± 0.19) and bachelors-trained (5.95 ± 0.21) counterparts (p