Foundation of the Physical Therapy Healthcare Process (Part 2)
December 25th 2007 06:55
On Patient Accommodation
Patients in need of physical rehabilitation usually are being seen and examined first by physiatrists. Then they will decide whether a patient needs physical therapy management or not. They would suggest managements that we physiotherapists are to perform. However, we should not be mistaken that all we have to do is follow the list of managements written by physiatrists. We have to remember what a licensed physical therapist’s job descriptions as discussed previously. And so given the faculty to evaluate and analyze patient conditions, we by all rights may deliver additional managements that we think may benefit patients.
On the other hand, let us be reminded that physical therapy students or unlicensed graduates of physical therapy education can neither create managements nor modify the managements prescribed by licensed professionals.
What is expected of us as we receive patients in need of our care? Here are pointers that may help us in our practice (Pierson, 1999):
• Introduce oneself by name, title, and professional designation.
• Verify or confirm patient information we have received such as his/her name, diagnosis, purpose of treatment, and referral source.
• Interview the patient to obtain relevant information about him/her as part of the evaluation process.
• Perform additional evaluation activities to establish the patient’s capabilities, condition, problems, needs, and goals.
• Inform the patient of the treatment plan and techniques selected to fulfill outcome goals; include information about potential risks or adverse effects associated with the treatment.
• Encourage the patient to ask questions to obtain information to enable him/her to consent or decline treatment.
• Request that the patient sign an informed consent document or record his/her verbal consent in the medical record.
In addition to the above procedure, we may as well equip ourselves with a skill that a good physiotherapist has. It is the skill of keen observation. A good physical therapist would have already observed a patient from the moment a patient enters the clinic. By observing keenly a patient’s gesture, facial expression, manner of walking, and posture as he/she enters our premises, we would already have an idea on what a patient will be complaining of. We would also be guided in our physical examination by the things that we have observed regarding the patient.
Aside from non-verbal variables relayed to us by our patients, we have to examine other variables. Therefore, interviewing and physically evaluating a patient is necessary. These confirm our expectations or even give us an in-depth understanding of the disease process. In this way, we shall be able to come up with a sensible management suited to address our patient’s problems.
The findings we get from interviews and examinations, plus the treatments we administered should then be documented. Documentation could play a crucial role in communicating our perspectives to our colleagues. It could also be very beneficial medico-legally and even better in monitoring patient progress.
Patients in need of physical rehabilitation usually are being seen and examined first by physiatrists. Then they will decide whether a patient needs physical therapy management or not. They would suggest managements that we physiotherapists are to perform. However, we should not be mistaken that all we have to do is follow the list of managements written by physiatrists. We have to remember what a licensed physical therapist’s job descriptions as discussed previously. And so given the faculty to evaluate and analyze patient conditions, we by all rights may deliver additional managements that we think may benefit patients.
On the other hand, let us be reminded that physical therapy students or unlicensed graduates of physical therapy education can neither create managements nor modify the managements prescribed by licensed professionals.
What is expected of us as we receive patients in need of our care? Here are pointers that may help us in our practice (Pierson, 1999):
• Introduce oneself by name, title, and professional designation.
• Verify or confirm patient information we have received such as his/her name, diagnosis, purpose of treatment, and referral source.
• Interview the patient to obtain relevant information about him/her as part of the evaluation process.
• Perform additional evaluation activities to establish the patient’s capabilities, condition, problems, needs, and goals.
• Inform the patient of the treatment plan and techniques selected to fulfill outcome goals; include information about potential risks or adverse effects associated with the treatment.
• Encourage the patient to ask questions to obtain information to enable him/her to consent or decline treatment.
In addition to the above procedure, we may as well equip ourselves with a skill that a good physiotherapist has. It is the skill of keen observation. A good physical therapist would have already observed a patient from the moment a patient enters the clinic. By observing keenly a patient’s gesture, facial expression, manner of walking, and posture as he/she enters our premises, we would already have an idea on what a patient will be complaining of. We would also be guided in our physical examination by the things that we have observed regarding the patient.
Aside from non-verbal variables relayed to us by our patients, we have to examine other variables. Therefore, interviewing and physically evaluating a patient is necessary. These confirm our expectations or even give us an in-depth understanding of the disease process. In this way, we shall be able to come up with a sensible management suited to address our patient’s problems.
The findings we get from interviews and examinations, plus the treatments we administered should then be documented. Documentation could play a crucial role in communicating our perspectives to our colleagues. It could also be very beneficial medico-legally and even better in monitoring patient progress.
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