Abstract
This study is a retrospective chart review of 1,775 patients at a free primary care clinic with integrated occupational and physical therapy. Age, gender, reason for referral, diagnosis, and CPT codes for OT and PT services will be examined.
Primary Author and Speaker: Darla Coss
Additional Authors and Speakers: Kimberley Persons
Inclusion of occupational and physical therapy therapists in primary care is a promising model with evidence to support improved outcomes for patients (Bolt, 2019; Dahl-Popolizio et al., 2023). A campus-based free clinic began providing OT and PT in an interprofessional primary care clinic in 2016 (Coss et al., 2022). Little is known about the demographics of the patients, reasons for referral, patient diagnoses and services provided in this clinic. The research question is: What is the scope of OT and PT services in a free primary care clinic? A retrospective chart review of patient charts from 2016-2024 was completed. Information was captured with google forms. Data source was paper medical records and all were reviewed onsite at the main office of the primary care clinic. Each chart was coded for: age, gender, primary language, reason for referral, diagnoses, and CPT codes for OT/PT services provided. 76 patients received OT and 75 patients received PT. Most patients were provided both services at initial visit. Patients ranged from younger than 18 (2.0%) to over 65 (6.8%). Most patients were between 40-49 (36.8%) with 59.2% female, 40% male and 6 not identifying a gender. Spanish was the primary language of 87.6% of the patients. Reason for referral by ICD-10 codes included: musculoskeletal system (86.5%), endocrine system(10.2%), nervous system (9.4%), mental and behavioral health (8.7%), and genitourinary disorder(3.9%). Most common diagnoses were diabetes, hypertension, obesity, pain, depression, and anxiety. OT/PT CPT codes most commonly identified were therapeutic procedure, self care/home management, health behavior, manual therapy, gait training, orthotic fitting, and neuromuscular re-education. The results of this study demonstrate the scope of OT and PT in primary care. As OTs work to embed services in innovative and emerging practice settings, these results may support OT’s presence in primary care allowing for greater access to meet patient needs.
Bolt M., Ikking T., Baaijen R., & Saenger S. (2019) Occupational therapy and primary care. Primary Health Care Research & Development 20(e27): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423618000452
Coss, D., Chapman, D., & Fleming, J. (2022). Providing occupational and physical therapy services in a free community-based interprofessional primary care clinic. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 35:sup1, 26–32, https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2021.1981261
Dahl-Popolizio, S., Sauber, T. M., & Mookadam, M. (2023). How occupational therapy can contribute to the primary care team and reduce physician burden. Family Practice Management, 30(3), 15–19.