Easing the burden for joint replacement wait times: the role of the expanded practice physiotherapist.

There is a critical shortage of orthopedic surgeons in Canada today due to a decreasing number of surgeons practising here and the increased demand for their services from a population with record-high rates of osteoarthritis and obesity. A method of managing the increased demand for total joint replacement was implemented and evaluated. A physiotherapist and orthopedic surgeons performed assessments on patients referred for surgery and found that 34% did not require surgery and that all patients required appropriate conservative management.

Reducing hip and knee replacement wait times: an expanded role for physiotherapists in orthopedic surgical clinics.

This paper describes a research project that examined an expanded role for physiotherapists to provide pre- and post-operative consultation to patients with hip and knee complaints with the overall goal to save the surgeon's time and improve patient throughput, thereby reducing wait times.