Effectiveness of Two Different Entry Portal Pathways Into Primary Care for Musculoskeletal Injury

Reynolds Army Community Hospital53 enrolled

Overview

This study aims to compare the self-report functional outcome measures, medical readiness and healthcare utilization (overall cost of imaging, prescription medications for pain, and follow-up visits) of soldiers with musculoskeletal injuries first seen by a physical therapist versus primary care provider.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Physical Therapy Direct Access Physical Therapy Primary Care

Interventions

physical therapy vs. primary care interventionsOTHER

Subjects with acute (\< 3 months onset) will be randomized to see either a physical therapist or a primary care provider as their initial entry into the healthcare system

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults over age 18 * Musculoskeletal injury or complaint \< 3 months since onset * Active duty service member, reachable by phone/e-mail within 3 months of initial encounter Exclusion Criteria: * Subject currently has a permanent profile for any reason OR subject has a temporary profile for a body part in the same half of the body as the current complaint OR solider is pending physical examination board (PEB) or undergoing/pending medical examination board (MEB) * Individuals undergoing PEB/MEB are made aware that the end-state of the process includes a certain percentage of government monetary compensation based on their physical or mental disability, i.e, higher disability equates to greater pay. Because of this, individuals may be motivated to demonstrate worse outcomes as it may result in a higher disability "rating". For this reason, these individuals will be excluded from the study. * Subject has been treated previously for the same condition within the past 3 months * Subject has history of surgery for the same body part within the past 24 months

Locations (1)

Reynolds Army Community Hospitral

Fort Sill, Oklahoma, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Patient Specific Functional Scale

Time frame: 3 months

PROMIS physical function scale

Time frame: 3 months

Global Rating of Change (GROC)

Time frame: 3 months

Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale

Time frame: 3 months

Secondary Outcomes

Self-Report Medical Readiness Questionnaire

This questionnaire consists of 6 questions that ask the patient to rate their ability to perform various soldier/deployment-related tasks. This will provide way of measuring the soldier's perceived status of medical readiness before and after episodes of medical care.

Time frame: 3 months

Medical Profile Status

The medical profile is the Army's assessment of a soldier's overall medical readiness, i.e.: deployability. A profile for musculoskeletal injury can be temporary (T) or permanent (P) and deployable (2) or non-deployable (3). The profile is used to limit the soldier's activities to accommodate their injury or complaint. Evaluating the medical profile status in this study will serve as a way to measure the subjects' medical readiness.

Time frame: 3 months

Overall Healthcare Consumption

overall healthcare consumption as measured by the dollar-value of each medical encounter following the initial encounter

Time frame: 12 months

Patient Satisfaction

Likert Scale 0-10, how satisfied is the patient with the care they received.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.