Back to Search
Start Over
Operationalizing wait lists: Strategies and experiences in three hospital outpatient physiotherapy departments in Montreal
- Source :
- Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. 34:872-881
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Informa UK Limited, 2018.
-
Abstract
- In Canada, limited resources and increasing demand place pressure on the public healthcare system, something that is likely to increase. In this context, wait lists in outpatient physiotherapy departments (OPD) will get longer, system inefficiencies will arise, and frustrations and ethical concerns will be experienced by patients and staff. To better understand the perceptions of OPD staff regarding priority setting, treatment frequency, treatment duration, and wait list management strategies, we conducted an Interpretive Description study involving semi-structured interviews in three OPDs in Montreal. Participants discussed factors that influenced their decision making about who was prioritized to receive care, strategies that were used to respond to an imbalance between needs and resources in the OPDs and procedures to manage wait lists to help improve access to care. While clinical needs are central in approaches to prioritization, other non-clinical factors relating to the patient, the physiotherapist, and the institution also influence decisions. We examine these findings through the lens of complexity theory, providing insight into opportunities and obstacles for the implementation of management strategies in OPDs. These strategies will need to be carefully evaluated in order to create evidence-based guidelines for wait list management in other settings.
- Subjects :
- Physical Therapy Specialty
Prioritization
030506 rehabilitation
medicine.medical_specialty
Operationalization
Priority setting
Waiting Lists
Treatment duration
Quebec
Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
Context (language use)
3. Good health
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Ambulatory care
Ambulatory Care
Physical therapy
medicine
Humans
Resource allocation
030212 general & internal medicine
0305 other medical science
Psychology
Limited resources
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15325040 and 09593985
- Volume :
- 34
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Physiotherapy Theory and Practice
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....3ae7ea3a4cc420d91dc12866b108a348