This profile in innovation on the AHRQ Health Care Innovation Exchange website is a nice reminder of a new and growing niche for PTs, primarily staffing (or on call) ERs as a consultant for patients with musculoskeletal conditions. There are a couple of recent publications (here and here) that have described the potential role of PTs in emergency rooms, but it's still a very new (and I suspect uncommon) opportunity in practice for PTs. Since ~15% of all individuals presenting to an ER have complaints of musculoskeletal conditions amenable to PT, there is lots of opportunity to decrease unnecessary imaging, drugs, and referrals to specialists for invasive procedures. Carondolet St. Joseph's Hospital in Tucson, AZ has certainly been an innovator in this areas. Curious to hear if others have started similar programs in their communities.
John
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