Experienced physiotherapists as gatekeepers to hospital orthopaedic outpatient care

Brand, Caroline A; Osborne, Richard H; Wicks, Ian P; de Steiger, Richard N

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01637.x

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To the Editor: We read with interest the recent article by Oldmeadow and colleagues.1 Patients on waiting lists have long waits and poor quality of life,2 and we are currently piloting a similar model for assessment of patients referred for orthopaedic opinion for hip and knee arthroplasty.3

1 Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
2 AFV Centre for Rheumatic Diseases, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.
3 Melbourne Health, Melbourne, VIC.
4 Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: richardo@unimelb.edu.au

1. Oldmeadow LB, Bedi HS, Burch HT, et al. Experienced physiotherapists as gatekeepers to hospital orthopaedic outpatient care. Med J Aust 2007; 186: 625-628. <MJA full text>
2. Ackerman IN, Graves SE, Wicks IP, et al. Severely compromised quality of life in women and those of lower socioeconomic status waiting for joint replacement surgery. Arthritis Rheum 2005; 53: 653-658.
3. Osborne R, Haynes K, Jones C, et al. Orthopaedic Waiting List Project. Summary report. Melbourne: Victorian Government Department of Human Services, 2006. http://www.health.vic.gov.au/electivesurgery/pubs/owlsumrep.pdf (accessed Nov 2007).

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