Are physiotherapy screening clinics cost effective in improving orthopaedic outpatient services?
Posted by Tracy Comans
on 3 September 2015
Long waits for specialist orthopaedic services are common across Australia. We used a discrete event simulation model to test the impact of different models of service provision on throughput, waiting times and cost-effectiveness at one hospital. We found that increasing the use of advanced musculoskeletal physiotherapists in screening roles is a cost-effective way to improve supply of services and reduce waiting times in this outpatient orthopaedic service. However, supply of orthopaedic specialists also needs to be increased to adequately manage overall demand for services at the modeled hospital.
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Author: Tracy Comans
About: Tracy Comans is an Associate Professor with the CAHE, Griffith University, and the Metro North Hospital and Health Service Australia. Her research interests centre on developing economic models to synthesise costs and outcomes of health care interventions and leading and developing health services research with a particular focus on allied health.
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| Tags: Health Services Delivery Musculoskeletal Disorders |
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