Strengthening Physiotherapy in Austria: A Push for Professional Expertise

KREMS, Austria - Jan. 14, 2025 - PRLog -- Austrian physiotherapists require additional training to better identify serious health issues and make clinically relevant decisions that benefit their patients. This is the conclusion of a recent study conducted by IMC Krems and published in the journal BMC Primary Care. Specifically, the ability to determine whether physiotherapy is indicated ("keep") or to refer patients to a physician ("refer") could be significantly enhanced through targeted education and training programs. The findings highlight the need for focused measures to improve healthcare professionals' knowledge, particularly in managing serious pathologies.

Austria relies heavily on the expertise of its physiotherapists to maintain and enhance the population's health and quality of life. Highly trained professionals play a vital role, especially in rehabilitation following injuries and in the care of chronically ill patients. A recent study led by Prof. Jessica Janssen and Associate Prof. Wolfgang Lackenbauer from the Institute of Therapy and Midwifery Sciences at IMC Krems gathered baseline data on the decision-making skills of physiotherapists for the first time—revealing significant room for improvement.

Clinical Vignettes with Red Flags

The study surveyed 479 physiotherapists, asking them to decide whether fictitious patients, described in case scenarios ("clinical vignettes"), should receive continued physiotherapy ("keep") or be referred to a physician ("refer"). "Our focus was on identifying red flags in these fictional cases — warning signs of serious pathologies explains Jessica Janssen, lead author of the study. The findings showed a clear need for improvement in decision-making: in critical clinical vignettes, only 53.5% of participants made the correct decision, compared to 70.5% for musculoskeletal cases and nearly 80% for non-critical medical cases. Alarmingly, only two professionals (0.4%) correctly assessed all 12 cases presented in the questionnaire. These results underscore the necessity for more specific training in recognizing red flags, i.e., indicators of severe pathologies.